Toni Morrison

The best art is political and you ought to make it political.

As a writer, I can't think of anything more important than a language that is accurate and precise, but also beautiful and provocative.

My work is to make sure that the people I'm writing about are human, and that they are complex, and that they are not stereotypes.

The novel is a way of knowing, not a way of telling.

I think of myself as an archaeologist, digging through the past to find the truth.

I'm always surprised by what I write. I don't know what I'm going to say until I say it.

The future is in your hands.

I don't belong to anybody. I don't belong to any group. I belong to myself.

The only thing I really want to do is write.

I'm a black writer. I'm not a writer who happens to be black.

The world is a very interesting place.

I write because I have to. It's a compulsion.

Language is power.

I'm not a teacher. I'm a writer.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.

I want to be a part of the conversation.

I'm a storyteller.

The job of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.

Sth, I know that feeling. Just when I think I'm in the clear, I find myself in the thick of it again. It's a never-ending battle.

It's a wonder women have no sense of humor.