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."
It's so hard to say what you really mean. For any number of reasons: to protect yourself, or if you just can't find the words. - Paul Beatty
It's so hard to say what you really mean. For any number of reasons: to protect yourself, or if you just can't find the words.
- Paul Beatty
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 re… - Paul Beatty
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 re…
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
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.
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 … - Paul Beatty
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 …
If New York is the City That Never Sleeps, then Los Angeles is the City That's Always Passed Out on the Couch. - Paul Beatty
If New York is the City That Never Sleeps, then Los Angeles is the City That's Always Passed Out on the Couch.
In The Sellout I tried to capture how we can talk and see race, how we see urbanity, and how we see our history. - Paul Beatty
In The Sellout I tried to capture how we can talk and see race, how we see urbanity, and how we see our history.
People are very comfortable when race relations get looked at retrospectively. Slavery, the civil rights movement, etc. - Paul Beatty
People are very comfortable when race relations get looked at retrospectively. Slavery, the civil rights movement, etc.
It makes me think about how you hear these young people say, "I see you, man." Or even if you go and watch some basketball game over the summer and t… - Paul Beatty
It makes me think about how you hear these young people say, "I see you, man." Or even if you go and watch some basketball game over the summer and t…
All this angst, all this stuff we all feel, is just tied to making art. It's so ancient. - Paul Beatty
All this angst, all this stuff we all feel, is just tied to making art. It's so ancient.
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