Inspiring Quotes From 12 Great Black Writers

The following quotes are in no particular order except ladies first.

Each writer will have a unique and sometimes unimagined effect on whoever reads their work.

I believe that when they put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard, they never intended to write a line or a paragraph that would change the world. They simply sought a necessary means of self-expression.

Having their words cited and paraphrased, reprinted and often quoted was simply a natural progression.

Great writing, like the creamiest part of the milk, always rises to the top.

"A lot has been made of the humour - it's upset some people that a book on slavery isn't a misery fest, as if you're not taking it seriously enough. Whereas I think humor is part of the human condition. This is how human interactions work, you laugh and you're serious. But if you laugh doesn't mean it's not a serious book."

Andrea Levy addressing the detractors of her book, 'The Long Song'.

Personally I have often wondered why 'literary' books are so downright miserable. Is that what makes it worthy of a prize, the fact that the characters barely smile?

As Andrea rightly points out, a novel true of any human experience will highlight the laughter as well as the tears.

Andrea Levy sadly passed away 14 February 2019.

She's survived by her husband Bill Mayblin.

The Women's Prize for Fiction, Costa Book of the Year, Walter Scott Prize and Orange of Oranges were literary prizes awarded to her in recognition of her sparkling writing talent.

Thank you Andrea for never dimming your light and and for allowing your writing dreams to come true so the rest of the world could benefit, share and enjoy.

Rest In Peace. Rest in Power.

“I recently spoke at a university where a student told me it was such a shame that Nigerian men were physical abusers like the father character in my novel. I told him that I had recently read a novel called American Psycho,and that it was a shame that young Americans were serial murderers.”

What can I add to this very clever retort from a prominent and powerful writer?

Chimamanda's novels can seem like a slow burn until you complete them and find yourself catching your breath at the dynamic authority with which she writes and, apparently, speaks.

"I travel every opportunity I get or make. The world is amazing. Seeing other places and how others live, is like being in a dream. You won't want to come home."

Terry McMillan

I've tasted gloriously soft, doughy, straight-from-the-oven, smells-like-a-dream German bread whilst in the super-clean, city of Hamburg and, I've climbed the refreshingly cool, crystal clear waters of Dunns River Falls in Jamaica.

I've brought Seville oranges in Spain and wooden clog shoes in Amsterdam. I've frozen through a Canadian winter and basked in Bahamian sunshine.

Through it all, I've found inspiration every step of the way.

Terry says that you don't need to be rich to travel. I'm certainly not rich so I guess I would agree.

"Some critics will write 'Maya Angelou is a natural writer' - which is right after being a natural heart surgeon."

After many years of writing I have come to realise that the more I do it, the more 'natural' I become!

My 'desire' to write is natural. It lives, breathes, eats and sleeps with me.

My 'actual writing' is discipline, dedication and continuous improvement.

Maya Angelou died 28 May 2014 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States.

In 2010, she was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor in the U.S., by President Barack Obama. More than thirty health care and medical facilities have been named after Angelou. She was awarded more than fifty honorary degrees.

"When you love a man, he becomes more than a body.

His physical limbs expand, and his outline recedes, vanishes. He is rich and sweet and right. He is part of the world, the atmosphere, the blue sky and the blue water."

I love this because it doesn't say that men have to be right or strong or unable to cry. It doesn't even say that men have to be providers and seek safety in stereotypes. It says that women can love men from an alternate, wonderful and beautiful point of view.

"Where this gourd drops to the ground, there shall be our home and there you shall increase and multiply, and your people, your sons and daughters, shall fill the new town, and that town will grow and will always be yours." From the Novel 'Slave Girl.'

Buchi addresses issues of identity, belonging and roots.

She makes a brave, bold, promise that there will be certainty, stability and new life where there was none before.

If this is what's missing for you, here's a hope that's strong and solid.

"The older you are, the more you live in the past. I have to remember that young people are living in this world today and I have to be advised by them as they are advised by me."

Walter surprised many when he departed from his traditional detective genre to write science fiction.

Maybe he was being advised by his younger audience?

Walter recognizes that just because you're young doesn't mean you're uninformed.

“I can't believe what you say, because I see what you do.”

James addresses the needs of children often in his writing.

This is a warning of how they watch and imitate us and the possible consequences. It also warns us not to be hypocrites with each other.

James' writing is always profound, always intelligent.

“One of the truest tests of integrity is its blunt refusal to be compromised."

What do you do when no-one else believes that you're right? Where do you stand when you stand alone?

According to Chinua, author of the fantastic book 'Things Fall Apart,' you stand on the side of right.

Don't change your position. Retain your integrity.

Achebe died after a short illness on 21 March 2013 in Boston, United States.

The New York Times described him in his obituary as "one of Africa's most widely read novelists and one of the continent's towering men of letters".

The BBC wrote that he was "revered throughout the world for his depiction of life in Africa". He was laid to rest in his hometown in Ogidi, Anambra State.

"I say there are human beings and human non-beings, a male can be either one. Human beings have to try to understand themselves and others, they should have compassion and seek truth with independent thought."

It's easy to forget about independent thought when we're bombarded with messages telling us what we should think, feel and do about everything from the latest product to the newest celebrity.

Switch off sometimes and give the space in your head a chance to experience its own unique vision.

"Having read all my life and found it a great source of pleasure, one thing had always bothered me - I never saw myself reflected in the pages of anything I read. This prompted me to write my first book and has kept me inspired to date! Telling untold stories keeps me alive."

Courttia's hit debut novel 'The Scholar' entered a marketplace so full that initially it didn't even acknowledge him, yet he made an impact and has kept on going influencing numerous young readers worldwide.

What do you see, read, feel or hear on a regular basis that doesn't reflect you and what are you doing about it?

"I first came across The Black Jacobins by [the Afro-Trinidadian writer] C L R James in prison and that turned my life around. It made me realise that even though my life was crap, black people in history had lived a lot worse. It also made me think, 'maybe I can contribute."

Alex emerged from a less than ideal period in his youth to become a prolific and rightly celebrated writer whose work evokes memories and stirs heartfelt passion.

Doing what you want to do, the way you want to do it is not easy. But neither is marching to the beat of someone else's drum.

No matter your circumstances, you can always contribute to something greater than yourself even though at times it may feel as though you're going up a down escalator.