Their words
“If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it.”
Source: Speech to the Ohio Arts Council, as reported in The Cincinnati Enquirer, 27 September 1981
Context Speaking at the Ohio Arts Council's annual meeting in her home state, Morrison explained how her writing had grown out of her reading.
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“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.”
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“Oppressive language does more than represent violence; it is violence; does more than represent the limits of knowledge; it limits knowledge.”
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“It's important, therefore, to know who the real enemy is, and to know the function, the very serious function of racism, which is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work.”
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“You are moving in the direction of freedom and the function of freedom is to free somebody else.”
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