Suzan-Lori Parks Professions : Playwright Born : May 10, 1963 Browse All Authors Top 28 quotes by Suzan-Lori Parks Be bold. Envision yourself living a life that you love. Believe, even if you can only muster your faith for just this moment, believe that the sort of life you wish to live is, at this very moment, just waiting for you to summon it up. And when you wish for it, you begin moving toward it, and it, in turn, begins moving toward you. Suzan-Lori Parks love-is believe moving People ask me when I decided to become a playwright, and I tell them I decide to do it every day. Most days it's very hard because I'm frightened - not frightened of writing a bad play, although that happens often with me. I'm frightened of encountering the wilderness of my own spirit, which is always , no matter how many plays I write, a new and uncharted place. Every day when I sit down to write, I can't remember how it's done. Suzan-Lori Parks play writing people Difficulty creates the opportunity for self-reflection and compassion. Suzan-Lori Parks compassion reflection opportunity I realized that my circumstances, while causing me despair and heartbreak, also held great possibility, if only I could see it. I knew that I was learning one of the most important lessons of my life: that instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity, I should work toward a realization that every opportunity is perfect. Each moment is perfect and heaven-sent, in that each moment holds the seeds for growth. Difficulty creates the opportunity for self-reflection and compassion. Suzan-Lori Parks compassion reflection opportunity Every play I write is about love and distance. And time. And from that we can get things like history. Suzan-Lori Parks distance play writing The writer has two kinds of faith: actual writing and sitting openly. Have faith in your personal effort or sweat. And faith in God, or whatever you want to call it. Then the voices will come. Faith is the big deal. Suzan-Lori Parks voice writing two Each moment is perfect and heaven-sent, in that each moment holds the seeds for growth. Suzan-Lori Parks heaven-sent growth perfect I don't consciously start writing a play that involves issues. After it's done, I sit back like everyone else and think about what it means. Suzan-Lori Parks writing mean thinking Some people think I am an issue-oriented writer, but I've never said to myself, I'm gong to write about such-and-such an issue - that would make for incredibly boring writing, at least to my taste. Creating someone I don't know and her made-up world shows us more about who we are - is actually a better mirror - than if I were to parade in front of you an instantly recognizable person in an instantly recognizable situation. I'm not saying, Let's make it all abstract and weird and difficult and thereby you will know more about yourself. My process is much more organic than that. Suzan-Lori Parks creating writing thinking My plays are for the kind of black people who relate to funk music, to Parliament-Funkadelic. When those guys get out of a spaceship - the idea that black people are from outer space, theres a poetic truth to that. We are this vast people. Suzan-Lori Parks space play ideas I knew that I was learning one of the most important lessons of my life: that instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity, I should work toward a realization that every opportunity is perfect. Suzan-Lori Parks perfect opportunity inspirational The first time I went over to [my director's] house, he said to me, This is a very strange play. I was pleased that he reminded me of that. [He] understands the play [VENUS] intellectually and emotionally and the humor, the funny bone. Suzan-Lori Parks house play directors The writing of Topdog was a great gift. I feel the play came to me because I realized that my circumstances, while causing me despair and heartbreak, also held great possibility, if only I could see it. Suzan-Lori Parks despair play writing Youre only yourself when no ones watching! Suzan-Lori Parks Quality is like quantity, but there's a lot less of it. Suzan-Lori Parks quantity quality And as you walk yr road, as you live yr life, RELISH THE ROAD. And relish the fact that the road of yr life will probably be a windy road. Suzan-Lori Parks windy walks facts My father was in the Army and we moved around a lot, and one of my favorite places was the library. Suzan-Lori Parks library army father I love beautiful black-and-white movies - anything Bette Davis, especially Now, Voyager, Casablanca, Mildred Pierce; anything by Orson Welles, Truffaut, or Godard; and Paper Moon by Peter Bogdanovich. Suzan-Lori Parks black-and-white moon beautiful Everything I write doesn't appear to be biography until later. I often say that I've never written about anything I've experienced. Of course, that's not true. But it doesn't appear familiar to me at all. And maybe that's because I have to be in a kind of coma in order to write. If it appeared familiar, I wouldn't. Suzan-Lori Parks true say never me I love my lecture tours. I get up onstage. I have my stack of books and a glass of water and a microphone. No podium, no distance between me and the audience, and I just talk to people and get all excited and tell a lot of jokes, and sing some songs, and read from my work and remind people how powerful they are and how beautiful they are. Suzan-Lori Parks me work beautiful love Similar Authors Alan Ayckbourn playwright Bonnie Greer playwright Annie Baker playwright August Wilson playwright August Strindberg playwright Athol Fugard playwright All Authors
