Maxine Hong Kingston Quotes
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Hunger also changes the world - when eating can't be a habit, then neither can seeing.
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I have found things that I could have done better in 'The Woman Warrior.' But then I thought: Let the work of one's youth just stand.
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It seems that writing chose me. I feel that because I know history, and I know the history of so many cultures; I have lived a large life.
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To me success means effectiveness in the world, that I am able to carry my ideas and values into the world - that I am able to change it in positive ways.
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Let my life as Poet begin. I want the life of the Poet. I have labored for over twelve years, one thousand pages of prose. Now, I want the easiness of poetry. The brevity of the poem.
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I've been writing since I was 7, but before that, I was orally making stories.
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The sweat of hard work is not to be displayed. It is much more graceful to appear favored by the gods.
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When I am composing, I try to clear my mind of having to publish, or having to sell a book or find readers. That kind of thinking gets in the way.
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What does old look like? Sometimes I am wrinkled, sometimes not.
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There can't be a pure myth, especially when the myth has been handed down in the oral tradition. As the stories are told, they change. If the stories don't change they just die.
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I'm so proud that my offspring became a musician. I'm full of awe that we are able to have a whole family live the life of artists.
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I learned to make my mind large, as the universe is large, so that there is room for contradictions.
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When I'm teaching, I tell my students: It's all process. Don't even think of product.
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The difference between mad people and sane people... is that sane people have variety when they talk-story. Mad people have only one story that they talk over and over.