Fiction, with its preference for what is small and might elsewhere seem irrelevant; its facility for smuggling us into another skin and allowing us to live a new life there; its painstaking devotion to what without it might go unnoticed and unseen; its respect for contingency, and the unlikely and odd; its willingness to expose itself to moments of low, almost animal being and make them nobly illuminating, can deliver truths we might not otherwise stumble on.
Interpretation
Fiction reveals deeper truths through the exploration of seemingly insignificant experiences and perspectives.
This quote highlights the unique power of fiction to immerse readers in diverse experiences and perspectives, allowing them to discover profound truths about life and humanity that may otherwise go unnoticed. Through careful attention to small details and the exploration of the unconventional, fiction transcends mere storytelling to illuminate aspects of existence that resonate on a deeper level, enriching our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
In practice
During a book club meeting discussing the layers of meaning in fiction.
I knew that the world around you is only uninteresting if you can't see what is really going on. The place you come from is always the most exotic place you'll ever encounter because it is the only place where you recognise how many secrets and mysteries there are in people's lives
Dead women tell no tales. Sad men write them down.
When you look at hip-hop, I want to do that: to spit fire and take our best from the ashes to build our kingdom; to recognize all the regional styles, conscious lyrics, the tracks, underground, mainstream, the way we treat each other. Lose the garbage and rebuild our scene.
I think black people have to be in control of their own image because film is a powerful medium. We can't just sit back and let other people define our existence.
Beauty is a fruit which we look at without trying to seize it.
One of the attractions of translating 'Heroes' is that it's not the kind of play that I write. If it had been, I probably wouldn't have wanted to translate it. There are no one-liners. It's much more a truthful comedy than a play of dazzling wit.
While I admire writers who are able to write with a vitality based on order and action, I work in a different vein. I often feel that if I can get the language just right, the language hypnotizes the reader.
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