Most Of The Things That Are Asked

Many A Young Person Tells Me He Wants To Be A Writer. I Always Encourage Such People, But I Also Explain That There's A Big Difference Between Being A Writer And Writing. In Most Cases These Individuals Are Dreaming Of Wealth And Fame, Not The Long Hours Alone At The Typewriter. You've Got To Want To Write, I Say To Them, Not Want To Be A Writer. The Reality Is That Writing Is A Lonely, Private And Poor-paying Affair. For Every Writer Kissed By Fortune, There Are Thousands More Whose Longing Is Never Requited. Even Those Who Succeed Often Know Long Periods Of Neglect And Poverty. I Did.

In All Of Us There Is A Hunger, Marrow-deep, To Know Our Heritage, To Know Who We Are And Where We Came From.

You Have To Deal With The Fact That Your Life Is Your Life.

My Parents Were Teachers And They Went Out Of Their Way To See To It That I Had Books. We Grew Up In A Home That Was Full Of Books. And So I Learned To Read. I Loved To Read.

Brown People Wouldn't Speak To Someone Who Was Black.