28 John Edgar Wideman Quotes for You to Enjoy

John Edgar Wideman

American Writer

Born: Jun 14, 1941

History Me People Time Writing You

Related authors: Dale Carnegie Denis Waitley Dr. Seuss H. L. Mencken Napoleon Hill Ray Bradbury W. E. B. Du Bois William Arthur Ward

All my life, I've been very aware of my body. I have always used it as a gauge of things. When I look at a person, and I see their body, that's the beginning of knowledge about them. Furthermore, I respect the body. John Edgar Wideman

The primary thing writing and basketball share is the sense that each time you go out, each time you play or begin a piece, it's a new day. You can score 40 points one game, but the next game, those points don't count. You can win the Nobel Literature Prize, but that doesn't make the next sentence of the next book appear. John Edgar Wideman

Time Day You Game Book Writing Win Sense Those Out Points Count Share Nobel Primary New Piece Make New Day Go Score Begin Prize Literature Sentence Next Appear Each Each Time Play Thing Basketball

I think I was kind of melancholy as a kid. I spent a lot of time inside my own head, a lot of time sort of staring into space wondering the hell was going on. John Edgar Wideman

Time Space Own Hell Think Melancholy Spent Kid Kind Inside My Own Head Sort Lot Wondering Going Staring

Silence marks time, saturates and shapes African-American art. Silences structure our music, fill the spaces - point, counterpoint - of rhythm, cadence, phrasing. John Edgar Wideman

Music Art Time Silence Our Our Music Marks Silences Structure Point Shapes Counterpoint African-American Spaces Rhythm Fill

My aunt Geraldine was the unofficial historian and storyteller. She had all the information about family members and the gossip that came out of the church because we were very much part of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. At family gatherings, the older folk had the floor, had pride of place, and it was their stories I remember. John Edgar Wideman

Family Pride Remember Gossip Church Older Gatherings Members Out Unofficial Folk About Had Part She Because Came Were Methodist Aunt Historian Very Family Members African Stories Information Place Storyteller Episcopal Much Floor

In Haiti, as I understand it, storytelling and history itself are not a business of necessarily elucidating facts or the truth of an incident, but finding the version that is most entertaining and therefore will get retold and live in immortality. John Edgar Wideman

Truth History Business Will Live Entertaining Finding Immortality Facts Haiti Most Understand Version Itself Get Storytelling Incident Therefore Necessarily

I always liked to write and had fun writing, but I didn't have any pretensions about being a writer. I liked to read and liked to putz around and write little stories or poems, but my thing was sports. John Edgar Wideman

Sports Writing About Poems Write Writer Had Liked Read Around Always Any Being Stories Little Fun Thing

My particular lifetime, my individual profile, represents something very basic to African-American history and culture because I was a second generation immigrant, so to speak, from the South. My grandfather was born in South Carolina - well, both grandfathers were born in the South. John Edgar Wideman

History Generation Culture Speak Carolina Immigrant Born Something Both Individual Lifetime Particular Well Because Were South South Carolina Very Represents African-American Grandfather Grandfathers Profile Basic Second

I wish I had time to listen to music more. John Edgar Wideman

Music Time Wish More Had Listen

I don't understand why black people have been so quiescent, so passive over the hundreds of years of American history. Why hasn't there been more violence, more armed struggle? I know answers to some of that, but it seems to me it's an issue of faith, an abiding faith in some sort of great beyond, or great spirit, or even in the American dream. John Edgar Wideman

Faith Great Me History Struggle People Black Hundreds Hundreds Of Years Dream Abide Some Spirit Seems More Great Spirit Over Armed Beyond Know Sort Understand Answers Issue Passive Been Years American American Dream American History Even Why Violence

I write what I want to write, and then, when it's finished, I use my judgment to see whether or not I think it's intrusive. If it is problematic, then I ask those involved. I won't necessarily do what they say. But I do consult. I haven't had too many problems. Nobody's really gotten angry at me. Nobody, as far as I know, has felt betrayed. John Edgar Wideman

Angry Me Problems Finished Judgment Think Too Say Those Intrusive See Betrayed Consult Write Had Nobody Know Involved Felt Gotten Problematic Want As Far As Whether Far Ask Then Really Use Many They Say Necessarily

I feel compelled not to pass on a vision of bleakness, destruction or cynicism. I want to tell the truth as I see it, but I also have to believe that individuals - my kids, your kids, whoever - can do something about it, and I want to show the ways in which they can do something about it. John Edgar Wideman

Home wasn't so much a house as people, family. John Edgar Wideman

Home Family People House Much

I don't have anybody living around me who has much of a sense of what I do. That's exactly what I like. John Edgar Wideman

Me Sense Living Exactly Exactly What Like Around Anybody Much Who

A great artist transforms our world, removes scales from our eyes, plugs from our ears, gloves from our fingertips, teaches us to perceive reality differently. John Edgar Wideman

Great Eyes Reality World Great Artist Our Ears Our World Scales Perceive Fingertips Gloves Artist Us Teaches Differently

I lived with my mother and father and brothers and sisters some of the time; some of the time, my mother and father were feuding, so my mother would take us to live in my grandmother's house. John Edgar Wideman

Time Mother Father Mother And Father Live Would Some Brothers Brothers And Sisters Take House Were Sisters Us Grandmother Lived

Books were my Internet, my TV, my movies all rolled into one. John Edgar Wideman

Internet Books TV Were Movies

The title of my book is 'American Histories,' plural. And as far as I'm concerned, my reading of history is it is a sort of nightmare. It is a sort of nightmare, and I'm trying to wake up from it. And as any nightmare, it's full of much that is unspeakable. John Edgar Wideman

History Book Wake Up Reading Unspeakable Concerned Sort Wake Up Histories Trying American Any As Far As Title Far Much Full Nightmare

How do you talk about the Holocaust? How do you talk about slavery? Probably the best thing to do is just be quiet and hide from it, forget about it. Except, then it jumps up and bites you. Because it's there. John Edgar Wideman

Best You Hide Just Be Bites About Except Talk Because How Up Jumps Quiet Forget Just Then Holocaust Thing Slavery

A lot of people think the best work I've done was nonfiction - the 'Brothers and Keepers' book. But I think of myself as a fiction writer. And I think, if my work is put in perspective, all the books would be a continual questioning of what's true and what's not true, what's documented and what's not documented. John Edgar Wideman

Work Best Myself Book People Perspective Think Books Would Would-Be Best Work Brothers Writer Put True Documented Nonfiction Lot Questioning Done Fiction Fiction Writer Keepers

Basketball can give us a kind of mystical awareness. Everything seems focused and in balance. John Edgar Wideman

Balance Awareness Everything Focused Kind Give Seems Mystical Us Basketball

I try to cope by doing what I do, what I find purpose and joy in. For me, that has been writing and playing ball. It doesn't make the pain go away, but what else can I do? John Edgar Wideman

Me Writing Joy Try Go Away Pain Else Has-Been Find Purpose Make Ball Doing Go Been Away Cope Playing

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