Quotes by Me 'Killer Joe' was originally written in 1991 and first produced in '93 at the Next Theater's Lab - a 40 seat black box theater in Evanston, Illinois - back when I was getting started. I was just 25 and I had been acting for awhile, but it was my first play and the one that really got me noticed, especially by Steppenwolf. Tracy Letts backmeblackplay When I write a play, and we read it for the first time, the great fear is that everybody is going to say, 'You're a bum and you can't write. This stinks.' and throw the script in the garbage. The great hope is that they're all going to lift me up on their shoulders and carry me to the streets, singing, 'He's a genius, he's a genius!' Tracy Letts mehopefeartime I'm just a Chicago actor who's a playwright. Even with the success of 'August,' the people in town who come to our theater know me by sight, because they've seen me onstage so much. Tracy Letts knowmesuccesspeople I think my experience as an actor helps me to write anything. It certainly helped me to write 'August Osage County.' It helps me to write any play that I'm working on because I think one of the things I do well is write good roles for actors. Tracy Letts goodthinkmeexperience Having children has been one of the biggest things that has happened to me in my life. Tracy Lawrence my-lifemelifechildren I've never been one to stay in a complacent place where I just let the grass grow around me. Tracy Lawrence growplaceneverme I've never been an artist that really got into fluff songs. I like songs that have substance to them. I think sometimes that may hurt me commercially a little bit. But I like to cut things that have the power to speak to people on an emotional level. That's the power of country music to me. Tracy Lawrence memusicpowerpeople Toward the end of the '90s, it got pretty rough for me - a lot of emotional unrest and problems with my relationships. That affected my career. Tracy Lawrence problemsendmeemotional I grew up very heavily involved in a United Methodist Youth organization. I grew up going to church camp for years. I ministered, and country music stole me away. It was just where my heart wound up. It's what I wanted to do. Tracy Lawrence meyouthmusicheart I've found, as I've gotten older, it's really difficult to write on the road. There are so many distractions, so many people in and out of the bus. It's really difficult to do. So I just keep a notebook with me, and I jot down ideas. I schedule appointments to write. Tracy Lawrence roadmepeopleideas A poem gives me a chance to have an encounter with a feeling, with an experience, with a wish, with an idea. Tracy K. Smith feelingmeexperiencechance What excites me is that I'm an ambassador for poetry, which is something that I wholeheartedly believe in and that has been an anchor and a force of stability and consolation throughout my life. I think that's good news. Tracy K. Smith my-lifegoodmelife When my father died, those years when he was working on the Hubble came back to me, and it seemed fitting to imagine him as having somehow merged with the large mystery that the universe represents. Tracy K. Smith memysteryuniversefather I think humans have always felt watched back by whatever is out there flickering in the distance. What excites me is what the imagination creates, not simply in explanation of what is there but also to explain or justify the feeling of awe and attachment that the heavens inspire. Tracy K. Smith feelingthinkmeimagination Losing my father made me want to find out if I could come up with a version of God or the afterlife that I could feel like was acceptable now that both my parents are in it. Tracy K. Smith parentsmegodfather I wanted to write the kind of poetry that people read and remembered, that they lived by - the kinds of lines that I carried with me from moment to moment on a given day without even having chosen to. Tracy K. Smith daymemomentpeople I've actually traveled quite a bit with various authors. Judith Miller and I toured the highlands in Scotland with Liz Curtis Higgs, and that was incredible fun. However, I love going with my husband, who - although he is not a writer per se, he is a historian and can give me a lot of insight on various historical locations. Tracie Peterson mehusbandfunlove Authors can get an attitude of us-against-them when it comes to publishers, but learning how authors and editors can work together taught me to look at my work in a different way and to make that work as solid as possible before it ever goes to the publisher. Tracie Peterson melearningworkattitude When I was as little as four years old, my mom would give me a pen and paper and tell me to write a story to keep me busy. Tracie Peterson penmemombusy I know I'm supposed to say ageing doesn't bother me, then suddenly you're like, 'Yeah, I care about it, I really worry about it. I'm getting old. I'm old!' Tracey Emin knowmeyoucare«2829303132333435363738»
