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Quotes by Jamaican Authors

"The black widow, who had dispatched a lover or two, was sought out for her wisdom. The young spider asked her, "Did you keep his harmful secret under the threat of danger, or did you spin a web so confusing that he didn't know if you were friend or foe? Did you release him from the web and your presence or will you give another the venom in which to finish him?" The black widow was quiet and then said, "All of the above."

"Her scar tissue, which she seems to amass both physically and mentally, may not be pretty, but they have become tougher than if she had never been wounded at all."

"I think that by and large chess players have been very kind. Like I said there have been a few incidents, but they certainly didn't serve to bring me down any."

"I don't write about the same thing every time, everyday, different things are happening out there and if you take the time to look around, you can see that, then you can put it all together and tell the story."

"People care much more for how things look than how things are."

"I write for ghosts, the ghosts I can't see but I know stick around. Some I know are good. Others I know are bad. The first bring me nostalgic comfort while the latter instill unease."

"You may call me a Klansman if you will, but, potentially, every white man is a Klansman, as far as the Negro in competition with whites socially, economically and politically is concerned, and there is no use lying."

"I travel the garden of music, thru inspiration. It's a large, very large garden, seen?"

"I was born in St. Andrew's and raised in Kingston then I attended the Alpha Boy's school."

"Religion has become so many different things. Religion is an economic thing for some people. Religion is a gun."

"Weird people don't care if they're weird. They are the most entertaining to converse with because nothing is off-limits."

"If I blink she'll disappear," he told her. She looked at him and said,"Maybe that is the best thing for you."

"People, most especially those who have known ease in this life, care more about being prospered than refined. It's always about what they can get from God, not what they can do for others, unless they can call attention to it for others to see."

"God is like the sun. When the sun shines, it shines for everyone. God is for everyone."

"I don't stand for the black man's side, I don' t stand for the white man's side. I stand for God's side."

"Every time I plant a seed, He say kill it before it grow, he say kill it before they grow."

"She didn't care about anything, or maybe she cared too much."

"Men who are in earnest are not afraid of consequences."

"There was once a spirited feral mustang broken in by her stern rider. It was a harmonious relationship for the most part but, like any relationship, she tested the boundaries he placed on her and threw him...Would the rider, having suffered his own wound, retaliate, discipline or forgive?"

"I don't make excuses, so don't make excuses for me. When I'm being an ass, it's because I have one."

"I don't care what you play, where you're from, who you produce. It depends on what you're doing when you're with me. That's what counts. I don't pre-judge anything or anybody."

"I know no national boundary where the Negro is concerned. The whole world is my province until Africa is free."

"I'm not an American, Do they count the votes in America? I haven't voted in Jamaica either."

"I am a conservative type of person, so sometimes when I'm chilling with myself, people always come ask me, 'What's wrong with you? What are you wondering about?'"

"Who knows you more...your friend or your enemy? It's your enemy that pursues with passion while your friend engages at leisure."

"If they were there for you when you had nothing, they are the ones worth having now. If they only notice you because of what you have gained, are they worth having at all?"

"She sat there reading; cool, calm and collected. "You could ruin his life with that information," her friend reported triumphantly. The woman sighed, clearly annoyed at being interrupted. "If I did he would never forget me," she replied. "Besides...I don't care enough about his life to concern myself with what he does with it as long as he doesn't concern himself with thoughts of me." Her friend furrowed her brows. "Why?" she asked. The woman set her book down, leaned forward provocatively and said, "Because then I'd have to think of him too."

"People will sometimes find themselves attracted to others, that's just who they are. It's what they do with that attraction that defines them."

"Marriage is the connecting of the two: Without passion it's just friendship, without friendship it's just lust."
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