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Dionne Brand

14quotes

Dionne Brand: A Visionary Voice for Social Justice


Full Name and Common Aliases


Dionne Brand was born on March 6, 1953, in Mexico City, Mexico. Her full name is Dionne Louise Marie Brand.

Birth and Death Dates


Birth: March 6, 1953 | Death (not applicable, still active)

Nationality and Profession(s)


Brand's nationality is Canadian-Jamaican. She is a poet, novelist, essayist, and filmmaker.

Early Life and Background


Dionne Brand was born to Jamaican parents in Mexico City. Her family moved to the United States when she was four years old and later settled in Jamaica before migrating to Canada in her teenage years. This multicultural background significantly influenced her writing and perspective on identity, belonging, and social justice.

Major Accomplishments


Brand's writing has been widely acclaimed for its lyrical prose, nuanced exploration of themes, and dedication to representing underrepresented voices. Some notable accomplishments include:

Winning the Governor General's Award for English-language fiction in 2007 for her novel "At the Full and Change of the Moon"
 Being appointed as a Professor of Poetry at New York University's Creative Writing Program
Serving as the Writer-in-Residence at various institutions, including the University of Toronto and the University of California, Berkeley

Notable Works or Actions


Some notable works by Dionne Brand include:

"Bread Out of Stone: Memories, Sex, and Masturbatory Jews" (1994)
"Land to Light On" (1997), a novel that explores themes of identity, history, and belonging
 "A Map to the Door of No Return" (2001), a collection of essays that delve into her experiences as a migrant

Impact and Legacy


Dionne Brand's work has had a profound impact on contemporary literature. Her writing often focuses on social justice issues, such as racism, sexism, and xenophobia, making her a vital voice for marginalized communities.

Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered


Brand is widely quoted and remembered for her insightful commentary on identity, history, and social justice. Her words offer a powerful critique of systemic inequalities and promote empathy, understanding, and unity among people from diverse backgrounds.

Quotes by Dionne Brand

I was someone who lived in anxiety. I felt anxiety was part of being conscious in the world; it was a prerequisite of a moral and ethical life. I don’t mean the anxieties of Capital, I mean the anxieties of an unfinished world, the unfinished projects of the imagination, as Wilson Harris would put it.
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I was someone who lived in anxiety. I felt anxiety was part of being conscious in the world; it was a prerequisite of a moral and ethical life. I don’t mean the anxieties of Capital, I mean the anxieties of an unfinished world, the unfinished projects of the imagination, as Wilson Harris would put it.
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It is not the job of writers to life our spirits. Books simply do what they do. They sometimes confirm the capricious drama of a childhood living room. When you think that you are in the grace of a dance you come upon something hard.
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It is not the job of writers to life our spirits. Books simply do what they do. They sometimes confirm the capricious drama of a childhood living room. When you think that you are in the grace of a dance you come upon something hard.
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We’d appraise each other, in the provisional way that lovers do, by attaching great depth and significance to the provisional. How, after all, do you “know” anyone? You take in certain physical and emotional characteristics that you’ve aestheticized, ignoring the facts. You listen to what a lover has to say, taking in the erotic music of their sound, their timbre, while dismissing the lyrics.
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We’d appraise each other, in the provisional way that lovers do, by attaching great depth and significance to the provisional. How, after all, do you “know” anyone? You take in certain physical and emotional characteristics that you’ve aestheticized, ignoring the facts. You listen to what a lover has to say, taking in the erotic music of their sound, their timbre, while dismissing the lyrics.
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Dali’s Reclining Woman Wearing a Chemise looks like a dead slaughtered doll, and I can see preying eagles, broken arrows, and jazz musicians in Jackson Pollock, and because I believe that Man Ray and Duchamp were lovers.
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Dali’s Reclining Woman Wearing a Chemise looks like a dead slaughtered doll, and I can see preying eagles, broken arrows, and jazz musicians in Jackson Pollock, and because I believe that Man Ray and Duchamp were lovers.
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People here believe in uncontrollable passion, in mad rages, and in the brusque inevitability of death.
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People here believe in uncontrollable passion, in mad rages, and in the brusque inevitability of death.
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I am not nostalgic. Belonging does not interest me. I had once thought that it did. Until I examined the underpinnings. One is mislead when one looks at the sails and majesty of tall ships instead of their cargo.
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I am not nostalgic. Belonging does not interest me. I had once thought that it did. Until I examined the underpinnings. One is mislead when one looks at the sails and majesty of tall ships instead of their cargo.
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Fashions are not fashions at all but refashioning; language is not communication but reinvention. They are never in place but on display.
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Fashions are not fashions at all but refashioning; language is not communication but reinvention. They are never in place but on display.
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Cities collect people, stray and lost and deliberate arrivants.
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Cities collect people, stray and lost and deliberate arrivants.
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If I see someone I see the ghost of them, the air around them, and where they’ve been. If I see a city I see it’s living ghostliness – the stray looks, the dying hands. I see it’s needs and its discomforts locked in apartments.
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If I see someone I see the ghost of them, the air around them, and where they’ve been. If I see a city I see it’s living ghostliness – the stray looks, the dying hands. I see it’s needs and its discomforts locked in apartments.
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Books leave gestures in the body; a certain way of moving, of turning, a certain closing of the eyes, a way of leaving, hesitations. Books leave certain sounds, a certain pacing; mostly they leave the elusive, which is all the story. They leave much more than the words.
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Books leave gestures in the body; a certain way of moving, of turning, a certain closing of the eyes, a way of leaving, hesitations. Books leave certain sounds, a certain pacing; mostly they leave the elusive, which is all the story. They leave much more than the words.
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