First of all, the novel should be a critique of the novels that have come before it in a language that broadens the audience of American literature. …

- Kiese Laymon

I'm not good enough as a person and definitely not good enough as a writer.

- Kiese Laymon

I'm interested in how the confessional is so abrasively critiqued today. I'm not really comfortable with simply confessing but I do think "confessing…

- Kiese Laymon

In essay writing, I'm trying to push the form of expository writing. I'm trying to remember, trying to reckon, trying to find connections with the wo…

- Kiese Laymon

Black is not a vice. Nor is segregation a virtue.

- Kiese Laymon

I'm an obsessive writer who needs and loves revision. Writing helps me learn and helps me teach.

- Kiese Laymon

One of the problems with a lot of "confessional" writing is that it starts and stops with the confessional and doesn't really tie the "I" into a "we"…

- Kiese Laymon

Not so deep down, we all know that safety is an illusion, that only character melds us together. That’s why most of us do everything we can (healthy …

- Kiese Laymon

I write two hours in the morning and two hours before bed no matter. No matter what. I also write during the day if I have to get something down, but…

- Kiese Laymon