I've also never written anything really in LA. Paul Beatty More Quotes by Paul Beatty More Quotes From Paul Beatty The thing is that it's always a constant reminder of how violent this country has been, always has been, you know. I'm still frustrated with these conversations: [Barack] Obama is black so that means this, that things are better, or it means that you voted for him because he's black. Paul Beatty frustratedmeancountry The anger and fear are so global. And of course, we live where we live and there's a hierarchy to who is worth what. It's been going on for a long, long time. Paul Beatty anger-and-fearhierarchylong My dad fought in Korea. It was one of the first stories I remember hearing about. Paul Beatty koreadadstories It's weird because there is progress somehow. But there's so much that just feels the same. How important is that rank? How important is it that I am allowed to make these decisions? What does that really mean? What is progress? Is it progress that a black guy gets to push a button for the nuclear bomb? Is that progress? Maybe, I don't know. Paul Beatty guydecisionmean That's such a great book [Bloods]. That's a perfect way to articulate this thing that we're talking about. Just because someone is a black general, doesn't mean this person is going to have a certain outlook on it. Paul Beatty meanbookblood I remember going to see Amiri Baraka. It wasn't actually too long before he died. He said, "You've got to write to change the world!" I was like, "Not me, no, no, no, no." Paul Beatty writinglongworld If I'm in LA, I'm close to home, and that just brings up all these other things, good and bad. There is a reason why I am not there. That's what I have to remind myself of. But I'm healthier in California, probably a little happier, maybe. I forget how beautiful and calm California is. It's not so much about the place, but also the age that I came to the place and, well, other things. New York is hard. Paul Beatty agehomebeautiful I'm not much of a self-promoter or anything. It's not something I feel comfortable doing. But sometimes I would get frustrated, I'd think, "You know, this is a good book, how come no one is paying attention to it?" So it's nice to have some recognition. I don't write to put it in a drawer, I hope that people see it. But what am I willing to do for that? I struggle with that a little bit. I try to be accommodating, but I'm pretty much a loner. I'll say this, and it'll sound like bullshit, but it's not: I don't really pay attention to this stuff very much. Paul Beatty nicestrugglebook I think, and a lot of that has to do with where I grew up in California; [status] isn't something I think about that much. Paul Beatty californiagrew-upthinking Don't write about trying to change the world, just write about a changed world or a world that's not changing. Let that do the work. Paul Beatty writingtryingworld I'm very fortunate. I'm not much of a self-promoter or anything. Paul Beatty promotersfortunateself My British publisher has this independent press. It's pretty small; they actually won last year. And she's got this great energy, and she's fiercely independent, and you know this book was a hard sell. No one wanted to buy this book. But she did, and so it's paid off for her, I hope. Paul Beatty independentbookyears There are things I don't like, like sitting at the head of the class. It makes me uncomfortable. I'll do it in a seminar if I have to, but with a workshop, I try to put myself in the circle somewhere. Because that hopefully frees up some people by making somebody else sit at the nominal head of the table. Paul Beatty circlesclasspeople I don't try to be satirical. I just try to get what's in my head on the page. And that part is hard for me to do. It takes a long, long time to make it poetic, somewhat essayistic. Paul Beatty pagestryinglong I think everybody focuses on race, but it's about a ton of things, and I just see these things as all interrelated and all interwoven in a weird way. Paul Beatty racewaythinking The Sellout is about friends and relatives who have touched me in real ways. Paul Beatty touchedrealway I co-taught a seminar called Small Group Processes with my professor. I learned so much from it, so much about myself, about groups, how this stuff works. I bring all that stuff to teaching now. Paul Beatty groupsteachingstuff Contradictions make people feel off. They'll say, "Hey, you just said this and now this person is doing that, how is that possible?" Paul Beatty contradictionheypeople My good friend, the poet Kofi Natambu, once said, "Contradiction is how we operate." Paul Beatty contradictiongood-friendpoet We don't act the same in every situation. Things bleed into all kinds of other things, from behavior to identity. Paul Beatty behaviorkindidentity
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