Russell Banks

“John Brown first swam into my vision in the 1960s when I was a political activist in the civil rights movement and the anti-war movement at Chapel Hill, where I went to university.”

“Through writing, through that process, they realize that they become more intelligent, and more honest and more imaginative than they can be in any other part of their life.”

“I began as a boy with artistic talent... as a visual artist... I thought that was what I'd become and in my late teens drifted into reading serious literature.”

“For almost anyone who chooses to be a writer, since so very few writers are able to learn a living from their work that is equivalent to the living earned by the average dentist or accountant.”

“The best thing about writing programs is that it rationalized the apprenticeship of a writer.”

“I don't want it to be all that self-conscious or artificial, but it really grows out of my having invented myself as a listener so that I could hear her voice.”

“First of all it's usually women who run these higher primate sanctuaries, rarely men. They are white. They come from privileged backgrounds. They are educated.”

“But really, it was reading that led me to writing. And in particular, reading the American classics like Twain who taught me at an early age that ordinary lives of ordinary people can be made into high art.”

“One hates a person for the same reason one loves him”

“When you are a long way from where you think you belong, you will attach yourself to people you would otherwise ignore or even dislike.”

“Storytelling is an ancient and honorable act. An essential role to play in the community or tribe. It's one that I embrace wholeheartedly and have been fortunate enough to be rewarded for.”

“Although I still occasionally paint and draw, my life has now been shaped by my writing.”