"I want to feel what I feel. Even if it's not happiness."

"Navigating without a compass, which is to say, without a clear idea of what is right and what is wrong, is a dangerous business."

"I'm writing for black people, in the same way that Tolstoy was writing for Russians, not for a little white island in the Caribbean."

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

"Racism is a distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you from thinking you’re not good enough or that you’re not worthy."