Quotes by N. K. Jemisin

“And Mother does not hate her; actually, she fears Damaya. Is there a difference? Maybe.”

“...she wonders why a part of her is trying to find value in degradation.”

“Many things have broken him. He holds himself together with spit and endless smiling, but all can see the cracks. You, though; you are dented, bruised, but intact.”

“That we're not human is just the lie they tell themselves so they don't have to feel bad about how they treat us”

“In the 'Dreamblood' books, I'm focusing more on what I like about epic fantasy: the layering and depth of tension; the chance to really delve into the minutia of an alternate society and its politi...”

“This is magic we're talking about. It's supposed to go places science can't, defy logic, wink at technology, fill us all with the sensawunda that comes of gazing upon a fictional world and seeing s...”

“We were all exposed to nothing but white dude fiction, occasionally young white women fiction, and if that’s how you’ve grown up, then that is what is normal.”

“This is the year in which I get to smile at all of those naysayers – every single mediocre insecure wannabe who fixes their mouth to suggest that I do not belong on this stage, that people like me ...”

“…You’re still putting a pretty hefty mental commitment into making a short story. Even though it’s relatively brief, you still have to come up with a world that’s coherent. I find short stories alm...”

“The pasts that I draw upon tend to be mythic pasts. I’m not super interested in writing historical fantasy. I have done that a few times in the case of subject areas that I felt like should have be...”

“My job is to help the world..That is what an artist's job is—to the degree that we can. That is nothing more than holding up a mirror and saying, 'You're beautiful, baby.' Or holding up a mirror an...”

“There is no greater warrior than a mother protecting her child.”

“But perhaps that was just the way of power: no such thing as too much.”

“It is blasphemy to separate oneself from the earth and look down on it like a god. It is more than blasphemy, it is dangerous. We can never be gods, after all—but we can become something less than ...”

“It is important to appreciate beauty, even when it is evil.”

“Immortality gets very, very boring. You'd be surprised at how interesting the small mundanities of life can seem after a few millennia.”

“But love like that doesn’t just disappear, does it? No matter how powerful the hate, there’s always a little love left, underneath.Yes. Horrible, isn’t it?”

“There is no logic to grief.”

“I'm tired of being what everyone else has made me, I said. I want to be myself.Don’t be a child.I looked up, startled and angry, though of course there was nothing to see. What?You are what your cr...”

“I will not beg your forgiveness, she said. Only her voice betrayed her fear; it was not its usual strong, clear tone. I did what I felt was right.Of course you did, I said. It was the wise thing to...”