Your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel.
August WilsonRead
When I first started writing plays I couldn't write good dialogue because I didn't respect how black people talked. I thought that in order to make art out of their dialogue I had to change it, make it into something different. Once I learned to value and respect my characters, I could really hear them. I let them start talking.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the importance of authenticity and respect in representing voices in art.
August Wilson reflects on his journey as a playwright, acknowledging that his initial inability to write authentic dialogue stemmed from a lack of respect for the way black people communicate. It highlights the necessity of valuing and honoring the unique perspectives and voices of characters, which allows for a more genuine artistic expression that resonates with truth and integrity.
Themes
AuthenticityArtDialogueRespectCharacter
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about diversity in the arts, one might quote this to emphasize the need for authentic representation.
More from August Wilson
All quotes →I think the blues is the best literature that we as blacks have created since we've been here. I call it our 'sacred book.' What I've attempted to do is to mine that field, to mine those cultural ideas and attitudes and give them to my characters.
August WilsonRead
All you need in the world is love and laughter. That's all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the other.
August WilsonRead
I do - very specifically, I remember Bessie Smith; I used to collect 78 records that I would buy from the St Vincent de Paul store at five cents apiece, and I did this indiscriminately. I would just take whatever was there. And I listened to Patti Page and Walter Huston, 'September Song.'
August WilsonRead
I know some things when I start. I know, let's say, that the play is going to be a 1970s or a 1930s play, and it's going to be about a piano, but that's it. I slowly discover who the characters are as I go along.
August WilsonRead
My influences have been what I call my four Bs - the primary one being the blues, then Borges, Baraka, and Bearden.
August WilsonRead
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