Ernest Gaines
Ernest Gaines
Ernest James Gainesis an African-American author whose works have been taught in college classrooms and translated into many languages, including French, Spanish, German, Russian and Chinese. Four of his works have been made into television movies...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth15 January 1933
CountryUnited States of America
fear mark
The mark of fear is not easily removed.
came country deal knew realized tried
In the beginning, I tried to be a more cosmopolitan writer, but I realized that I was a country boy, and I had to deal with things I knew about and where I came from.
boss children face feed grace grow job men pressure war white
Grace under pressure isn't just about bullfighters and men at war. It's about getting up every day to face a job or a white boss you don't like but have to face to feed your children so they'll grow up to be a better generation.
writing past trying
All writers write about the past, and I try to make it come alive so you can see what happened.
new-york writing years
I suppose I started writing seriously at 16 years old. I thought I wrote a novel at 16 and sent it to New York! They sent it back because it wasn't novel.
home wanted
I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to say something about home.
writing wanted feels
I had to see and feel and be with the thing that I wanted to write about.
eye dying fool
We looked at each other, and I could see in those big reddened eyes that he was not going to scream. He was full of anger - and who could blame him? - but he was no fool. He needed me, and he wanted me here, if only to insult me.
song people singing
When I'm sitting in the church alone, I can hear singing of the old people. I can hear their singing and I can hear their praying, and sometimes I hum one of their songs.
giving advice thumbs
If I were to give one piece of advice, I would say to never accept anything that you hear or see at face value. As a general rule of thumb, then the more you question, the better.
lying believe white
A myth is an old lie that people believe in. White people believe that they're better than anyone else on earth - and that's a myth.
lying men thinking
I like the sound of people's voices, and I think what a man says can very well tell what he's thinking, whether he's lying or not.
school men years
And I thought to myself, What am I doing? Am I reaching them at all? They are acting exactly as the old men did earlier. They are fifty years younger, maybe more, but doing the same thing those old men did who never attended school a day in their lives. Is it just a vicious circle? Am I doing anything?
men waiting brave
We wait till now? Now, when we're old men, we get to be brave?