James McBride

“Every time I see something about the Wild West, I'm reminded that our version of history may not be what really happened.”

“Whatever you is, Onion," he said, "be it full.”

“Writing teaches writing.”

“I write stories that are already in the air, and I think it's important to have the correct listening device to tune in to that frequency.”

“I don't live for my work. My life is my life. That's more important, and I think that helps my work.”

“The hard part about writing about a guy like John Brown is that he was so serious, and his cause was so serious, that most of what's been written about him is really serious and, in my opinion, a little bit boring.”

“My goal is to be able to fill out one of those forms that asks 'Who are you?' and be able to just put 'Human being,' you know?”

“The black church will accept anybody.”

“It would be nice if we redefined what we meant by 'war story.' If you're making $15,000 a year living in a certain area of Portland, trying to make it with three kids and no husband, that's a kind of war.”

“I just love music, and I love what music does for people.”

“I thank God I was a reporter before I became a writer.”

“If you meet your heroes, you're always going to be disappointed. Frederick Douglass was a great man, but would I want my daughter to marry him? Probably not. That doesn't mean that I don't think he's a great man.”

“Some writers like to go around talking about what they do all the time. I don't.”

“I understand it's great to read a great book, but it's better to live your life. It just helps me. It's uncomfortable at times, but you have to live outside the circle.”

“Fiction makes your dreams come true, and, as a writer, fiction allows you to delve into the area of miracles.”

“As a writer, you have to be near people and hear stuff. I'm a hamburger and cheese kind of fellow; I'm not Henry David Thoreau.”

“If I grew up in a truly color-blind society, I would not be a black American.”

“I don't like living around too many fancy-pantsy folks. That ain't my thing. I'm not into phony people.”

“I'm trying to get Americans to see that we're all pretty much the same. I believe it; I was taught God doesn't have a color. I want to better the planet a little bit.”

“Writing for me is cutting out the fat and getting to the meaning.”