1."Literature is less involved in giving you answers and more dedicated to giving you insight."
2."If you can't see women — half the species — as human, you can't see yourself as human."
3."I never hear white writers get asked, 'Do you worry about how you represent white people?'"
4."The question isn't ‘Do we have the writers?’ — it's 'Who's deciding who gets rewarded, who gets the power?'"
5."The fact that I won the literary lottery or some other writer of color has won the literary lottery, it's not that we're ungrateful ... it's not about the individuals — we have to look at the health of our communities."
6."Every time someone gives you a formula for what you should be and what you should do, you should know they're giving you a pair of handcuffs."
7."People don't make sense unless you know their world. Don't you know your friends better when you actually hang out at their houses?"
8."I'm writing a book. It's not a religion. It's not for everyone."
9."I think one always has to be mindful that the thing we think will bring revolution can also bring oppression. I think [things like the internet] are tools; they're not all good and they're not all bad."
10."Who a reader decides to identify with and who a reader decides to feel solidarity with is not something that the writer has a hand in."
11."The broader you are, the less likely you are to be universal."