Sometimes you have to show them what they want to see in order to get them to show you who they really are. Pearl Cleage More Quotes by Pearl Cleage More Quotes From Pearl Cleage Domestic violence is the front line of the war against women. Pearl Cleage domestic-violence lines war I think all negotiations should take place at a round table and everybody should have to rotate counterclockwise once an hour so that even the perception of head of the table, or foot, are ritually obliterated. Pearl Cleage power should-have thinking Loneliness is black coffee and late-night television; Pearl Cleage being-alone coffee loneliness Many times, what people call 'writer's block' is the confusion that happens when a writer has a great idea, but their writing skill is not up to the task of putting that idea down on paper. I think that learning the craft of writing is critical. Pearl Cleage block writing thinking When I got to the end of this play, I realized I was trying to make Angel do something that had not been justified by the characters and by their story . . .. I kept trying to force it, but that doesn't work. So I had to come to terms with what it meant for me to create a character who doesn't triumph. Pearl Cleage angel play character I've never been to Paris. I don't like to fly! Pearl Cleage paris As African-Americans, we often spend our time and energy blaming other people for the problems we see around us. Pearl Cleage african-american energy people What looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight. Pearl Cleage ordinary-days like-love crazy I really love writing comedy. Writing romantic comedy is even nicer because you get to write about how insane we all act when we're falling in love. Pearl Cleage falling-in-love insane writing Loneliness is random; solitude is ritual. Pearl Cleage ritual solitude loneliness If you don't annoy your big sister for no good reason from time to time, she thinks you don't love her anymore. Pearl Cleage big-sister annoying thinking But it is the fear, not the writing that defeats me. Everything is not a masterpiece. Pearl Cleage fear-not defeat writing a lot of brothers don't understand. When it comes to making love, reciprocity is everything. Pearl Cleage making-love brother sex I think the black community is no different from any other community. We need to take responsibility for how we live together. We need to be personally responsible for keeping our streets clean, our schools safe, and our houses peaceful. Pearl Cleage responsibility school thinking You can't save a person who doesn't want to be saved. It was like Mr. Eddie always told the new gardeners: Everybody's got to kill their own snakes. Pearl Cleage gardener snakes want I truly love the rehearsal process, those eight hours a day! I really love actors. Pearl Cleage day rehearsal process love I'm not one of those playwrights who says, 'Show up, hit your marks, and don't talk to me!' I always want to hear from the other artists involved, whether it's the director, the lighting tech, or the actors. Pearl Cleage your me always want When you're writing first person, all I can see and tell as the author is what that main character can see. Pearl Cleage you i-can writing character I think one of the things that writers and creative artists generally have to deal with is the censors that we have in our heads, the voices that we have that say you better not tell that and don't tell that, and people will think you're not a good girl, and your grandmother's going to be mad at you and all of those things. Pearl Cleage good you girl people When you sit down to write, you have to be prepared to strip all of those voices away, all of the censors away, and talk about what you think the truth is, which I think is really the task of the writer - to get to the truth. Pearl Cleage think you truth-is truth
