"The reason that I like to use classical myths as models is because African American writers and African American stor…"

"Place is important to my writing; I believe that if a reader gets a clear picture of the place where a character is f…"

"But what mires me in pessimism is the fact that so much of life is pain and sorrow and willful ignorance and violence…"

"So I kept pulling my punches. And later I realised that was a mistake. Life doesn’t spare the kind of people who I wr…"

"(Any favorite Mississippi or Louisiana authors you’d like to recommend?) There are so many: Ernest Gaines, Natasha Tr…"

"(Which writers – novelists, playwrights, critics, journalists, poets – working today do you admire most?) there are s…"

"I read everything. When I say everything, I read everything: children’s literature, Y.A., science fiction, fantasy, r…"

"What kind of reader were you as a child? Which childhood books and authors stick with you most?) This is when I becam…"

"(What’s the last great book you read?) “The Half Has Never Been Told: Slavery and the Making of America Capitalism,” …"

"(What books or authors have most inspired you? What books did you read while working on Ordinary Girls?) JD: Jesmyn W…"