There is a problem in America. An Irish or Polish American can write a story and it's an American story. When a Black American writes a story, it's called a Black story. I take exception to that. Every artist has articulated to his own experience. The problem is that some people do not see Blacks as Americans.
One should be able to return to the first sentence of a novel and find the resonances of the entire work.
I don't want to write without a sense of drama, without passion, or without both eyes open to the world around me.
Why do I write? The truth, the unvarnished truth, is that I haven't a clue.
