"I'm writing for black people, in the same way that Tolstoy was writing for Russians, not for a little white island in the Caribbean."

"There is no place you can go and get away from yourself."

"Being a Black woman writer is not a concession to anything. It's a privilege."

"All water has a perfect memory and is forever trying to get back to where it was."

"I can't say 'I'm writing a book' unless I have a topic, a subject, a theme, and characters who are struggling with that theme."