I definitely believe in a greater good. I definitely believe that there's a reason each of us is here and that we've been brought here to do something. And we need to get busy doing it. And I definitely believe that there is something moving us forward that's good.

Jacqueline Woodson

Categorized in : Needs Moving Believe

There is something so deeply visceral about libraries for me-rooms and rooms full of people dreaming and remembering.

Jacqueline Woodson

reading dream people

Diversity is about all of us, and about us having to figure out how to walk through this world together.

Jacqueline Woodson

diversity together world

But on paper, things can live forever.

Jacqueline Woodson

butterfly paper forever

Yes, writing is not easy. But can any writer imagine NOT writing?

Jacqueline Woodson

imagine easy writing

From a really young age, I was reading like a writer. I was reading for the deep understanding of the literature; not simply to hear the story but to understand how the author got the story on the page.

Jacqueline Woodson

deep-understanding reading age

I do believe that books can change lives and give people this kind of language they wouldn't have had otherwise.

Jacqueline Woodson

life-changing believe book

When I was a kid, I got in trouble for lying a lot, and I had a teacher say, instead of lying, write it down, because if you write it down, it's not a lie anymore; it's fiction.

Jacqueline Woodson

writing teacher lying

There is so much work left to be done in the world and for me, I am hoping to make the change I can and do the work I need to do through this gift I've been given.

Jacqueline Woodson

done world needs

Even the silence

Jacqueline Woodson

just-listen silence stories

People are going to judge you all the time no matter what you do...Don't worry about other people. Worry about you.

Jacqueline Woodson

judging worry people

I feel like the world stopped. And I got off...and then it started spinning again, but too fast for me to hop back on. I feel like I'm still trying to get a...to get some kind of foothold on living

Jacqueline Woodson

spinning trying world

Keep on doing what you're doing.

Jacqueline Woodson

In all your getting, get understanding.

Jacqueline Woodson

understanding

I believe in one day and someday and this perfect moment called Now.

Jacqueline Woodson

perfect life believe

I think in terms of being a New Yorker, as my friends would say, I don't take a lot of mess. I have no tolerance for people who are not thinking deeply about things. I have no tolerance for the kind of small talk that people need to fill silence. And I have no tolerance for people not - just not being a part of the world and being in it and trying to change it.

Jacqueline Woodson

silence people thinking

My favorite reader is one that revisits books and gets something new out of them each time.

Jacqueline Woodson

my-favorite something-new book

For me as a writer, it was understanding that we're so far behind in our way of dealing with death. We put someone in the ground, we bury them or we burn them, and then we're supposed to just move on and kind of get over it.

Jacqueline Woodson

understanding way moving

Sometimes you do have to laugh to keep from crying. And sometimes the world feels all right and good and kind of like it's becoming nice again around you. And you realize it, and realize how happy you are in it, and you just gotta laugh.

Jacqueline Woodson

nice laughing world

Racism doesn't know color, death doesn't know age, and pain doesn't know might.

Jacqueline Woodson

pain color racism

I think it's important to remember that writing is a gift and our stories are gifts to ourselves and to the world and sometimes giving isn't always the easiest thing to do but it comes back.

Jacqueline Woodson

writing giving thinking