---
title: "2 American writer Quotes By Colson Whitehead"
description: "2 American writer quotes by Colson Whitehead. Plus more from Colson Whitehead and more American writer sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/colson-whitehead-1042_american-writer_i-m-an-african-american-writer-i-m-a-laz_1620967.png"
---

> [I'm an African-American writer, I'm a lazy writer, I'm a writer who likes to watch The Wire, I'm a writer who likes to eat a lot of steak.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-m-an-african-american-writer-i-m-a-lazy-writer-i-m-a-writer-who/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dbb/colson-whitehead-1042_american-writer_i-m-an-african-american-writer-i-m-a-laz_1620967.png)

> [Twenty years ago, when I started writing, I didn't define myself as an African-American writer. And then you write books and you're focused on what's inside your books, and that kind of term is generally used on the outside, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/twenty-years-ago-when-i-started-writing-i-didn-t-define-myself-as-an/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8c2/colson-whitehead-1042_african-american_twenty-years-ago-when-i-started-writing_2319549.png)

## More by Colson Whitehead

> [I'd never been much of an athlete, due to a physical condition I'd had since birth (unathleticism). Perhaps if there were a sport centered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-d-never-been-much-of-an-athlete-due-to-a-physical-condition-i-d-had/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [I want to keep growing as a writer. I find myself doing unexpected projects and sort of challenging my idea of where I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-want-to-keep-growing-as-a-writer-i-find-myself-doing-unexpected/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [“Every Tuesday, James Fulton (and later, Orville Lever) stood in the downstairs drawing room and lectured on the intricacies of his science. Lectured on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/every-tuesday-james-fulton-and-later-orville-lever-stood-in-the/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [I started writing in the '90s, so I was free to just have an eccentric career and not conform to some idea of what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/i-started-writing-in-the-90s-so-i-was-free-to-just-have-an-eccentric/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [“Is this the truth of our historic encounter?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/is-this-the-truth-of-our-historic-encounter/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [“The Great War had always been between the white and the black. It always would be. Cora”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/the-great-war-had-always-been-between-the-white-and-the-black-it/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [“The worst sort of scoundrels took up the chase. Drunkards, incorrigibles, poor whites who didn’t even own shoes delighted in this opportunity to scourge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/the-worst-sort-of-scoundrels-took-up-the-chase-drunkards/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [Don’t go searching for a subject, let your subject find you. You can’t rush inspiration. … Once your subject finds you, it’s like falling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/don-t-go-searching-for-a-subject-let-your-subject-find-you-you-can-t/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [“its terms? Homer watched her as she dressed, like a valet who had waited on her since the cradle. “I’m caught,” Cora said. “You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/its-terms-homer-watched-her-as-she-dressed-like-a-valet-who-had/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [These days I find myself wanting to avoid being pigeon-holed, ghettoized, held in a different category than other authors. And when people ask me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/these-days-i-find-myself-wanting-to-avoid-being-pigeon-holed/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [Part of any book is establishing the rules at the end of the world. My first book, 'The Intuitionist,' takes place in an alternative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/part-of-any-book-is-establishing-the-rules-at-the-end-of-the-world-my/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [There's always an attack on the sophomore novel from some quarters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/there-s-always-an-attack-on-the-sophomore-novel-from-some-quarters/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [“All he felt now was envy. These people had expectations. Of the world, of the future, it didn't matter--expectation was such an innovative concept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/all-he-felt-now-was-envy-these-people-had-expectations-of-the-world/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [Growing up as a product of the black civil-rights movement, I had a lot of different models for black weirdness, whether it's Richard Pryor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/growing-up-as-a-product-of-the-black-civil-rights-movement-i-had-a/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

> [Schools don't teach American history that well, especially a lot of black American history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colson-whitehead/schools-don-t-teach-american-history-that-well-especially-a-lot-of/)

[Colson Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colson-whitehead/)

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