My grandfather is Portuguese. He betrayed what was expected of him and married my grandmother of African descent on my father's side. Fred D'Aguiar More Quotes by Fred D'Aguiar More Quotes From Fred D'Aguiar Once I became historically aware, I realized there are these formative moments of history tied around tragedy and disaster and sacrifice, that led people to survive and take stock and move on with some kind of notion of betterment. Fred D'Aguiar sacrifice people moving Whenever I went to an historical moment that was sad or where something terrible happened, it was, for me, a learning moment, a teaching moment for those who survived. Fred D'Aguiar historical moments teaching I usually feel something before I know it. Fred D'Aguiar knows feels I was on the wrong side of colonization. My ancestry is mostly mired in having the colonial experience as colonized subjects, first as slaves and then as independent subjects with a post-colonial experience. Fred D'Aguiar independent sides firsts At bottom, I'm a cheerful person. Fred D'Aguiar bottom cheerful persons I want a theory to come out to guide policy. Fred D'Aguiar guides theory want I think poetry can lead to policy, and I can hear the laughter when I say that. Fred D'Aguiar policy laughter thinking I love the fact that I can go to a museum now that tells me I'm in the postmodern age. Fred D'Aguiar age museums facts Magical realism as a declaration in the text is usually when someone can't speak and then they must be magically reinvigorated in some way. Fred D'Aguiar realism speak way People seem very comfortable having a kind of Cheesecake Factory-type of life. Fred D'Aguiar factories kind people If you're just mired in privilege, there's nothing to learn; learning appears to be over. Fred D'Aguiar privilege ifs I try to be even-handed and fair-minded about my view of history. I don't romanticize one side and demonize the other, though I do think that if you're suffering a lot, especially in the Bob Marley sense, suffering becomes a kind of university out of which you'll learn some hard lessons. Fred D'Aguiar suffering views thinking Much of the visualizing is imaginative. Fred D'Aguiar visualizing imaginative I found it instructive and highly constructive as a writer to go to a point of disaster and come out with a feel for it and then some sort of a lesson based on feeling. Fred D'Aguiar disaster lessons feelings Because I write intuitively and image-by-image and moment-by-moment, my writing has to be powered by feelings and emotions. Fred D'Aguiar emotion feelings writing I can't stay engaged for years with a book unless it has feelings. It can't be an idea for me - it has to be a felt thing. Fred D'Aguiar book years ideas Bruce Lee, before he fought, he would try to visualize how the fight would go, because he was visualizing a victorious path out of the combat. Fred D'Aguiar fighting path trying People who are suffering have to visualize ways out of tragedy to actually get out of it. Fred D'Aguiar tragedy suffering people If you created a place in air where they're breathing and running around in, and then they speak in that fictional milieu, it's perfectly authenticated because the whole world relies on you, who've made it possible. Fred D'Aguiar breathing air running To have a young person speak back, to hand him the microphone for his first-person utterances, you'd have to have an imagined architecture, otherwise people would say you're putting words in their mouths. Fred D'Aguiar utterance hands people
