“Everybody's got a Hole. Ain't nobody ever lived who don't got a Hole in them somewheres. When I say Hole you know what I'm talking about, dontcha? Soft spot, sweet spot, opening, blind spot, Itch, Gap, call it what you want but I call it a Hole. To get the best of a situation you gotta know a man's Hole. Everybody's got one, just don't everybody got one in the same place. Some got a Hole in they head. Now, you may think "Hole in the head" is just another way of saying stupid, but "Hole in the head" means more than that. It means they got a lack and a craving for knowledge. Not just the lack, now, but the craving too. A man could have a Hole just about anywheres: in the head, in the wallet (which means he burns his money), in the pocket (which means he don't got no money to burn but would like some), in the pants, in the guts, in the stomach, in the heart. You offer a person with a Hole in the head some knowledge and they gonna be in yr pocket cause you done gived him the opportunity to taste what he craves, but if a person's got a Hole in they heart and you offer them knowledge, you won't be able to sway them none. A Hole-in-the-heart person craves company and kindness, not no book.” Longing Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“My plays are for the kind of black people who relate to funk music, to Parliament-Funkadelic. When those guys get out of a spaceship - the idea that black people are from outer space, theres a poetic truth to that. We are this vast people.” PeopleKindIdeasPlayGuyBlackSpaceRelatePoeticBlack PeopleParliamentSpaceshipsOuter SpaceFunk Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“Every play I write is about love and distance. And time. And from that we can get things like history.” WritingPlayDistanceLove And Distance Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“I love beautiful black-and-white movies - anything Bette Davis, especially Now, Voyager, Casablanca, Mildred Pierce; anything by Orson Welles, Truffaut, or Godard; and Paper Moon by Peter Bogdanovich.” BeautifulBlackWhiteLove IsMoonPaperPeterBlack And WhitePierceMildredMildred Pierce Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“The writing of Topdog was a great gift. I feel the play came to me because I realized that my circumstances, while causing me despair and heartbreak, also held great possibility, if only I could see it.” IfsFeelsWritingPlayPossibilityCircumstancesDespairI RealizedGreat Gifts Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“Each moment is perfect and heaven-sent, in that each moment holds the seeds for growth.” MomentsHeavenGrowthPerfectSeedsHeaven Sent Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“My father was in the Army and we moved around a lot, and one of my favorite places was the library.” FatherArmyMovedLibraryMy FavoriteFavorite Places Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“I realized that my circumstances, while causing me despair and heartbreak, also held great possibility, if only I could see it. I knew that I was learning one of the most important lessons of my life: that instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity, I should work toward a realization that every opportunity is perfect. Each moment is perfect and heaven-sent, in that each moment holds the seeds for growth. Difficulty creates the opportunity for self-reflection and compassion.” IfsShouldImportantSelfMomentsOpportunityHeavenWaitingGrowthPerfectCompassionPossibilityCircumstancesLessonsDespairReflectionDifficultyLuckSeedsI RealizedRealizationSelf ReflectionImportant LessonsHeaven Sent Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“I knew that I was learning one of the most important lessons of my life: that instead of waiting for the perfect opportunity, I should work toward a realization that every opportunity is perfect.” InspirationalShouldImportantOpportunityWaitingPerfectLessonsRealizationImportant Lessons Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“And as you walk yr road, as you live yr life, RELISH THE ROAD. And relish the fact that the road of yr life will probably be a windy road.” FactsWalksRelishWindy Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“People ask me when I decided to become a playwright, and I tell them I decide to do it every day. Most days it's very hard because I'm frightened - not frightened of writing a bad play, although that happens often with me. I'm frightened of encountering the wilderness of my own spirit, which is always , no matter how many plays I write, a new and uncharted place. Every day when I sit down to write, I can't remember how it's done.” PeopleWritingI CanMatterHardDonePlayHappensRememberSpiritAsksMy OwnDecidedCraftsAsk MeWildernessFrightenedPlaywrightUncharted Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“Some people think I am an issue-oriented writer, but I've never said to myself, I'm gong to write about such-and-such an issue - that would make for incredibly boring writing, at least to my taste. Creating someone I don't know and her made-up world shows us more about who we are - is actually a better mirror - than if I were to parade in front of you an instantly recognizable person in an instantly recognizable situation. I'm not saying, Let's make it all abstract and weird and difficult and thereby you will know more about yourself. My process is much more organic than that.” PeopleIfsThinkingKnowsWorldWritingPersonsMadeSaidShowsProcessDifficultSituationIssuesFrontsTasteCreatingMirrorsBoringCraftsAbstractWho We AreAbout YourselfParadesGongs Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“The first time I went over to [my director's] house, he said to me, This is a very strange play. I was pleased that he reminded me of that. [He] understands the play [VENUS] intellectually and emotionally and the humor, the funny bone.” FirstsSaidPlayHouseStrangeDirectorsFirst TimeBonesCraftsVenusFunny Bones Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“I don't consciously start writing a play that involves issues. After it's done, I sit back like everyone else and think about what it means.” ThinkingWritingMeanDonePlayIssuesCrafts Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“Be bold. Envision yourself living a life that you love. Believe, even if you can only muster your faith for just this moment, believe that the sort of life you wish to live is, at this very moment, just waiting for you to summon it up. And when you wish for it, you begin moving toward it, and it, in turn, begins moving toward you.” IfsBelieveMomentsMovingTurnsWishWaitingLove IsWaiting For YouMuster Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“The writer has two kinds of faith: actual writing and sitting openly. Have faith in your personal effort or sweat. And faith in God, or whatever you want to call it. Then the voices will come. Faith is the big deal.” WantWritingKindTwoBigsVoiceDealsEffortSittingHave FaithSweatFaith In GodBig Deal Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
“Difficulty creates the opportunity for self-reflection and compassion.” SelfOpportunityCompassionReflectionDifficultySelf Reflection Author:Suzan-Lori Parks
