Dwelling on pain, spending too much time immersed in it, tasting its flavors, fingering its textures--this makes it only more potent. Tayari Jones More Quotes by Tayari Jones More Quotes From Tayari Jones If there was ever a time to boil up some grits it is now. Tayari Jones gritifs I take mentoring very seriously and I am on the board of an organization called Girls Write Now, where we match teen girls and writing mentors because it changes their lives. Tayari Jones girlorganizationwriting When you write a novel, you make other people see your imaginary friends. Tayari Jones novelwritingpeople My first novel, Leaving Atlanta, took at look at my hometown in the late 1970s, when the city was terrorized by a serial murderer that left at least 29 African-American children dead. Tayari Jones atlantacitieschildren Abandonment doesn't have the sharp but dissipating sting of a slap. It's like a punch to the gut, bruising your skin and driving the precious air from your body. Tayari Jones skinsbodyair I don’t mind expressing my opinions and speaking out against injustice. I would be doing this even if I wasn’t a writer. I grew up in a household that believed in social justice. I have always understood myself as having an obligation to stand on the side of the silenced, the oppressed, and the mistreated. Tayari Jones mindsidesjustice When it comes to memoir, we want to catch the author in a lie. When we read fiction, we want to catch the author telling the truth. Tayari Jones wantlyingfiction Remember that the writing itself is good for you. If your story is so close to home that you are afraid to write it, it probably means you need to write it. Tayari Jones homewritingmean I take mentoring very seriously and as a result I hardly get any work done during the school year. Tayari Jones mentoryearsschool I think the NAACP isn't recognized enough for all of the work it does, especially in the field of law. They may have faded from view over the last couple of decades, but they are fighting the good fight. Tayari Jones couplefightingthinking I guess this is how love is when it comes undone. No matter how tight you knit the stitches, a sharp tug on a loose thread will transform your warm sweater into a mangled heap of yarn that you can't reuse or repair. Tayari Jones yarnsweaterslove-is This is what I have come to know: Our past is never passed and there is no such thing as moving on. But there is this telling and there is such a thing as passing through. Tayari Jones passingpastmoving I was kind of an invisible girl when I was young. Tayari Jones invisiblegirlkind I am neither religious nor superstitious, but there is something otherworldly about the space where two roads come together. The devil is said to set up shop there if you want to swap your soul for something more useful. If you believe that God can be bribed, it's also the hallowed ground to make sacrifices. In the literal sense, it's also a place to change direction, but once you've changed it, you're stuck until you come to another crossroads, and who knows how long that will be. Tayari Jones sacrificereligiousbelieve Nine Years Under is a sparkling debut--- brimming with love and bursting with life. Booker's Baltimore is equal parts The Wire and The Cosby show. She doesn't shrink from the realities of life in an inner city funeral home, but she is also a loving witness, documenting the big hearted community that takes care of its own. Told with compassion, wit, and good old fashioned story telling, Sheri Booker gives us unforgettable characters who will make you laugh right up until they break your heart. Tayari Jones homeheartcharacter It's funny how three or four notes of anger can be struck at once, creating the perfect chord of fury. Tayari Jones creatingthreeperfect I like straightforward names for my characters. When I get too symbolic with names or places, I start feeling like the characters and the story are less read, and I lose interest. Tayari Jones namesfeelingscharacter The adolescent protagonist is one of the hallmarks of American literature. Tayari Jones american-literaturehallmarkliterature Secret families are really the bedrock issue of Western literature. Tayari Jones issuesliteraturesecret I am always urging my students to honor their writing practice, to set up a schedule. Tayari Jones honorpracticewriting
