“The horror of class stratification, racism, and prejudice is that some people begin to believe that the security of their families and communities depends on the oppression of others, that for some to have good lives there must be others whose lives are truncated and brutal.”
“I tell my students you have an absolute right to write about people you know and love. You do. But the kicker is you have a responsibility to make the characters large enough that you will not have sinned against them.”
“When I saw him speak here before, I could look into the audience and see people who look like him laughing at things I didn't know the references to. There is an intimacy between Chicago writers and the population of this city that I find really wonderful. It's warm and it's welcoming. It's a little like going to a Baptist church. They know when to say 'Amen'.”
