Words matter. These are the best Marlon James Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
The fiction writer in me likes gaps in stories because I can jump into that gap and try to suggest something.
I’m not a writer on a mission, and I’m very suspicious of writers on missions, but I’m also not living a false life.
There was never a single murder in my neighbourhood; there was barely a robbery. It was so suburban, it was almost disappointing.
Some of the craziest aspects about ‘Weeper’ were the things I found out to be true. I mean, true of people.
I find the violence in PG13 movies unbearable. This kid will never run home, never have another birthday. His death is slow, nightmarish. And you have to explore the consequences – the people who live on with this death.
What I find, particularly with young writers and readers, is that they don’t want complicated feelings.
Caribbean literature only has to be true to itself. It doesn’t need colonialism or imperialism. It’s always been vibrant.
At 28 years old, seven years out of college, I was so convinced that my voice outed me as a fag that I had stopped speaking to people I didn’t know.
I’m happy to not know what I think about stuff; I’m happy to change my mind. But it’s relatively recently that I’ve been able to apply that to feelings. I used to like to know what I felt. I didn’t want those feelings to be complicated or muddled or clashing.
We shouldn’t romanticize rejection. There’s nothing romantic about rejection. It’s horrible.
I always tell my students to complicate your characters: never make it easy for the reader. Nobody is ever one thing. That’s what makes characters compelling.
I wanted a picture of Jamaica that isn’t in books, and certainly not in novels.
I think the Greeks were the only people ever to nail character. Their heroes are deeply flawed.
Because homophobia is still largely driven by the church, it’s legitimised. It’s also tied to sexism, because those two are never far apart.
I was the nerd. Because I was reading. I wasn’t into sports. I was really into art. Very geekish about comics. Assumed gay.
