"Do I have to explain why 'exotic' pisses me off, and 'not exotic' pisses me off? They've got us in a bag, which we aren't punching our way out of. To be exotic or to be not-exotic is not a question about Americans or about humans. Okay, okay. Take me, for example. I'm common ordinary. Plain black sweater. Blue jeans. Tennis shoes ordinaire. Clean soo mun shaven. What's so exotic? My hair's too long, huh? Is that it? It's the hair? (p308)"
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Short story writers from the United StatesNon-fiction authors from the United StatesMemoirists from the United StatesEducators from the United StatesFeminists from the United States
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Imported from EN Wikiquote
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maxine_Hong_Kingston
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Maxine Hong Kingston
123 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Maxine Hong Kingston β
Related Quotes
"I want English professors to put my books on regular reading lists. An American writer. We have worked hard for fairnβ¦"
"Of course, I'm an ethnic writer, and only benighted people see ethnics as not partaking of the macrocosmic. And only β¦"
"If a woman is going to write a Book of Peace, it is given her to know devastation. ("Fire" opening line)"
"Humans are basically good. That's why it takes so much training to march march march kill kill kill kill. ("Earth" p269)"
"The images of peace are ephemeral. The language of peace is subtle. The reasons for peace, the definitions of peace, β¦"
"Children, everybody, here's what to do during war: In a time of destruction, create something. A poem. A parade. A coβ¦"
"When the peace demonstrations turned violent, and doves and hawks were using the same tactics-revolutionary and goverβ¦"
"The wind is time blowing by. (p189)"
"In the whole dark universe, I've met you at this bit of fire, and we speak with each other, and listen to each other.β¦"
"Joy and life exist nowhere but the present."