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I am fine with my books being categorized as African-American literature but I hope they are also considered Haitian-American literature and American literature. All of these things are part of who I am and what I write.

Roxane Gay

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Roxane Gay
Age: 50
Born: 1974
Born: October 15
Essayist
Journalist
Novelist
Scrabble Player
Writer
Omaha
Nebraska
American
Hope
Categorized
Write
Haitian
Part
African
Also
Considered
Book
Fine
Writing
Books
Things
Literature

More quotes by Roxane Gay

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Just write and love what you're writing. And if you're not loving what you're writing, take a look at why and fix that.
Roxane Gay
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When I write on Twitter, I do other things: I'm working, grading, or reading, and I'm procrastinating, and I'll pop on Twitter and be like, Hey, what's up? Yogurt's delicious.
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Diversity in literature is, in part, about representation - who is telling the stories and who stories are told about.
Roxane Gay
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The actual act of writing brings me such pleasure - to tell stories, to engage in cultural criticism, to reflect, to question, all of it is invigorating.
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You don't necessarily have to do anything once you acknowledge your privilege. You don't have to apologize for it. You need to understand the extent of your privilege, the consequences of your privilege, and remain aware that people who are different from you move through and experience the world in ways you might never know anything about.
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People do terrible things all the time, but we don’t regularly disown our humanity. We disavow the terrible things.
Roxane Gay
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I write for myself, first and foremost and I also write for people, mostly women, who just want to be seen and heard and all too often aren't.
Roxane Gay
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My fiction is a very accurate reflection of the world we live in. Certainly, in some stories, that reflection is amplified but America elected a man who enjoys grabbing women by their pussies.
Roxane Gay
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My tweeting is cool and calm unless I am riled up about something and then I just surrender to the fury of my fingers.
Roxane Gay
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We don't all have to believe in the same feminism. Feminism can be pluralistic so long as we respect the different feminisms we carry with us, so long as we give enough of a damn to try to minimize the fractures among us. Feminism will better succeed with collective effort, but feminist success can also rise out of personal conduct.
Roxane Gay
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I wrote myself back together. I wrote myself toward a stronger version of myself . . . Through writing and feminism, I also found that if I was a little bit brave, another woman might hear me and see me and recognize that none of us are the nothing the world tries to tell us we are.
Roxane Gay
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If I cannot rest and relax, all the work I do is for naught.
Roxane Gay
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I love Twitter. It doesn't keep me from writing and I think it's a really convenient scapegoat when the truth is that the real issue is self-control. I am totally fine admitting i have none. I'm not going to blame Twitter for affecting my writing. And also, Twitter doesn't affect my writing.
Roxane Gay
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I approach most things in life with a dangerous level of confidence to balance my generally low self-esteem.
Roxane Gay
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People of color are not under any kind of obligation beyond working hard, doing their best, and learning from their mistakes.
Roxane Gay
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I probably write the same story a hundred different ways. I suppose right now I am looking for the 101st different way to write that same story. And the 102nd, and 103rd and 111th and 133rd.
Roxane Gay
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It's gut instinct that helps me determine how to write a story. I love the surreal because I am faced with the challenge of making the unbelievable believable. That challenge is thrilling.
Roxane Gay
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Oftentimes, when a woman demands accountability, respect, or consideration, she is crazy or nagging or whatever.
Roxane Gay
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I was called a feminist, and what I heard was, 'You are an angry, sex-hating, man-hating victim lady person.' This caricature is how feminists have been warped by the people who fear feminism most, the same people who have the most to lose when feminism succeeds.
Roxane Gay
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Readers need to stop assuming characters are white if race isn't explicitly defined.
Roxane Gay