Jewell Parker Rhodes

Notable Quotes



I was born in a ghetto on the North Side of Pittsburgh. I was born as Emmett Till was dying and the civil rights era was being born.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

I grew up feeling 'less than.' I was the sad, shy child hiding in the hall closet beneath coats. I'd wait for my grandmother's voice to call, 'Jewell, Jewell.' I was lost, waiting to be found. I thought being found, I'd be happier, better. All the while, I read stories. Stories with both truth and lies.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

I inhaled books. I loved Classics Illustrated comic books. These were books that I could afford to buy after I turned in pop bottles for change. 'The Prince and the Pauper,' 'Robinson Crusoe,' 'A Journey to the Center of the Earth.' Male narratives filled with adventure and self-discovery.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

While the books I read as a child lacked diversity in the strict sense, they didn't lack values. Reading, I didn't see me externally, but I felt me - my humanity.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

I tried the second season of 'American Horror Story,' and it scared me horribly. I guess I prefer my own imagination to a realized visual.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

My grandmother valued her Southern roots, folk culture, and healing.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

I would love for there to be a 'Voodoo Dreams' movie, especially after seeing the glorious 'Beasts of the Southern Wild.' I so admired how the filmmakers captured Louisiana and the magical atmosphere. I cried.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

My grandmother and my upbringing filled me with the spirit of the church and the spirit of the faith brought by Africans to the new land during slavery.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

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.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

In 'Bayou Magic,' I bring in the cultural tradition of African mermaids - Mami Wata, the mother goddesses.

From Jewell Parker Rhodes

Authors with Similar Views

Randi Weingarten

3 perspectives

Gabrielle Zevin

2 perspectives

Gemma Ward

2 perspectives

Jeff Kinney

2 perspectives

Jennifer Armintrout

2 perspectives

Authors with Opposing Views

Aaron Paul

1 perspectives

Abigail Breslin

1 perspectives

Ana Ortiz

1 perspectives

Barack Obama

1 perspectives

Chang-Rae Lee

1 perspectives