38 Quotes by Jewell Parker Rhodes

I hope the teacher doesn’t say, ‘Write an essay about your summer vacation.’ If she does, I’ll leave the paper blank. Else I’ll have to lie. Say eviction is the best vacation. Hearing Ma weeping and Pa wheezing, cracking his knuckles while Leda sucks her pacifier, double-time, and Ray holds my hand. I never lie. I won’t. It’s better to keep quiet.

Home. It’s where we come from. Who we are.

When asked a question, class, it’s important to consider how it’s framed. Sometimes a question is a door to another question, another way of seeing. Understanding.

When truth’s a feeling, can it be both? Both true and untrue?

Last year, even my best friend, Keisha, stopped speaking to me when my family became homeless.

School doesn’t help with real life.

Sarah’s face is bleak. “I’m so sorry, Jerome. So, so sorry. If I could, I would hug you. Bring you back to life.” Her body leans forward like she thinks she.

I love historical fiction because there's a literal truth, and there's an emotional truth, and what the fiction writer tries to create is that emotional truth.

In 'Bayou Magic,' I write about African goddess-mermaids who accompanied slaves to America.