A biography for Anna Deavere Smithhasn’t been written yet.
“People who are sick, or who have been sick, or have come close to death have a lot to say - and they want you to hear it.”
“Suddenly in high school, I'm in a predominantly Jewish atmosphere. Jewish people were my gate to white America.”
“When you think about it, words can break your heart, or they can change your day.”
“Many people are afraid to talk about race because it's so emotionally loaded. We don't have the vocabulary to talk about it. Every day, our vocabulary seems more and more inadequate.”
“For me, first of all, I love people, I love ideas.”
“I remember from my father's funeral that the minister kept using a metaphor about life of a prism. And I took that away like a cherished image.”
“I think we can learn a lot about a person in the very moment that language fails them. In the very moment they they have to be more creative than they would have imagined in order to communicate. It's the very moment that they have to dig deeper than the surface to find words, and at the same time, it's a moment when they want to communicate very badly. They're digging deep and projecting out at the same time.”
“Probably the person who said the only color in Los Angeles is green was right.”
“My main concern is theater, and theater does not reflect or mirror society. It has been stingy and selfish, and it has to do better.”
“To live your life well, and have respect for what came before or after - there's a strong respect for that in African culture.”
“A lot of acting techniques are very self-oriented.”
“Not that many people, even contemporary writers, write about right now.”
“I see myself as not a typical theater person, but a person who uses the theater as a place to meet people and explore ideas.”
“Listening is not just hearing what someone tells you word for word. You have to listen with a heart. I don't want that to sound touchy-feely; it is not. It is very hard work.”
“Making your life is ultimately an extraordinarily creative endeavor.”
“I have a lot of optimism about new doctors because I think it's really clear that it's a lot of hard work and no guarantee of a lot of money.”
“President Obama called for a 'we' nation in his Inauguration Address. Art convenes. It is not just inspirational. It is aspirational. It pricks the walls of our compartmentalized minds, opens our hearts and makes us brave. And that's what we need most in our country today.”
“That artists are called to be more responsible and 'true' is a tip of hat to their power.”
“I never know when somebody's going to knock on the door of my own unconscious in a way that I wouldn't have anticipated.”
“Over time, my students have gotten richer and more educated.”