The strange dilemma of the 'ethnic-fiction' writer is that you are supposed to carry a banner for your homeland, be a voice for it, and educate the rest of the world about it, but I think that's far too onerous a burden for any writer to bear.
Interpretation
Writers from specific ethnic backgrounds face the pressure to represent their culture and educate others, which can be overwhelming.
Khaled Hosseini expresses the challenge faced by 'ethnic-fiction' writers who are often expected to serve as cultural ambassadors for their homelands while also fulfilling the artistic demands of their craft. This expectation can be a heavy burden, as it places the responsibility of representation and education on the individual writer, which may detract from their personal expression and artistic freedom.
In practice
In a speech about multicultural literature, one might quote this to highlight the pressures faced by ethnic writers.
You're gutless. It's how you were made. And that's not such a bad thing because your saving grace is that you've never lied to yourself about it. Not about that. Nothing wrong with cowardice as long as it comes with prudence. But when a coward stops remembering who he is... God help him.
There was brotherhood between people who had fed from the same breast, a kinship that even time could not break. - Amir
I don't outline at all; I don't find it useful, and I don't like the way it boxes me in. I like the element of surprise and spontaneity, of letting the story find its own way.
And that's the thing about people who mean everything they say. They think everyone else does too.
Perspective [is] a luxury when your head [is] constantly buzzing with a swarm of demons.
The desert weed lives on, but the flower of spring blooms and wilts.
I was always concerned with writing to my age at a particular moment. That was the way I would keep faith with the audience that supported me as I went along.
A creative mess is better than idle tidiness.
Japanese chefs believe our soul goes into our knives once we start using them. You wouldn't put your soul in a dishwasher!
To be true to life, a novel must have an ending that is inevitable given the specific personalities of the characters involved. The novelist must not impose an ending upon them.
To wake the soul by tender strokes of art, To raise the genius, and to mend the heart; To make mankind, in conscious virtue bold, Live o'er each Seene, and be what they behold: For this the Tragic Muse first trod the stage.
I paint and work as a sculptor, and I see architecture as an art... If you follow this approach you can use techniques to the service of man and to the service of an artistic idea, and beauty.
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