"Well, mostly, I wrote. I wrote because I am a writer, and writing is what writers do. They do it everywhere, they do it all the time, they do it even when it hasn’t “any purpose” and when it doesn’t make any money. (My creative writing sure didn’t, not back then.) I wrote all day as my “day job,” I wrote observations in my journal at cafes as a treat in the afternoon, I worked on my novels in the evening, I wrote letters of love and comfort to myself at night before I slept. I have been a writer and a storyteller my entire life, from my earliest memories of being aware of myself as a separate “self,” when I was a tiny child. A writer is who I am, writing is what I do."
and
"I think, the general and continued policing of what women, and black women, and poor black women (or those who are perceived as such) are and are not “allowed” to do, are and are not allowed to have, are and are not allowed to enjoy. “Luxury” is reserved for a small and clearly defined class–of which I am not considered a part, believe me.
But I have chosen to live, in ways that are meaningful to me, in luxury and romance."
Loved so much in this
"Well, mostly, I wrote. I wrote because I am a writer, and writing is what writers do. They do it everywhere, they do it all the time, they do it even when it hasn’t “any purpose” and when it doesn’t make any money. (My creative writing sure didn’t, not back then.) I wrote all day as my “day job,” I wrote observations in my journal at cafes as a treat in the afternoon, I worked on my novels in the evening, I wrote letters of love and comfort to myself at night before I slept. I have been a writer and a storyteller my entire life, from my earliest memories of being aware of myself as a separate “self,” when I was a tiny child. A writer is who I am, writing is what I do."
and
"I think, the general and continued policing of what women, and black women, and poor black women (or those who are perceived as such) are and are not “allowed” to do, are and are not allowed to have, are and are not allowed to enjoy. “Luxury” is reserved for a small and clearly defined class–of which I am not considered a part, believe me.
But I have chosen to live, in ways that are meaningful to me, in luxury and romance."
Amen to that!
Thank you so much for reading, Jan. That means so much :)