--- title: "20 Black Quotes By August Wilson" description: "20 Black quotes by August Wilson. Plus more from August Wilson and more Black sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/august-wilson-3646_black_pittsburgh-is-a-very-hard-city-especiall_935065.png" --- > [Pittsburgh is a very hard city, especially if you're black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/pittsburgh-is-a-very-hard-city-especially-if-you-re-black/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/august-wilson-3646_black_pittsburgh-is-a-very-hard-city-especiall_935065.png) > [There's no idea in the world that is not contained by black life. I could write forever about the black experience in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-s-no-idea-in-the-world-that-is-not-contained-by-black-life-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d7/august-wilson-3646_america_there-s-no-idea-in-the-world-that-is-not_266078.png) > [. . . what happened, of course, was that I was writing a play set in the 1940's that was supposed to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/what-happened-of-course-was-that-i-was-writing-a-play-set-in-the-1940/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/august-wilson-3646_american-life_what-happened-of-course-was-that-i-was-w_2729611.jpg) > [ I think that's the core of black aesthetics: the ability to improvise. That is what has enabled our \[black people's\] survival. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-think-that-s-the-core-of-black-aesthetics-the-ability-to-improvise/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5a/august-wilson-3646_ability_i-think-that-s-the-core-of-black-aesthet_2016951.png) > [I write for myself and my goal is bringing that world and that experience of black Americans to life on the stage…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-write-for-myself-and-my-goal-is-bringing-that-world-and-that/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/august-wilson-3646_black_i-write-for-myself-and-my-goal-is-bringi_1475470.png) > [Blacks have traditionally had to operate in a situation where whites have set themselves up as the custodians of the black experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/blacks-have-traditionally-had-to-operate-in-a-situation-where-whites/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6c/august-wilson-3646_black_blacks-have-traditionally-had-to-operate_2679886.png) > [Most of black America is in housing projects, without jobs, living on welfare. And this is not the case in 'The Cosby…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-projects-without-jobs-living-on/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/august-wilson-3646_america_most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-proj_9584.png) > [In 1977, I wrote a series of poems about a character, Black Bart, a former cattle rustler-turned-alchemist. A good friend, Claude Purdy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/in-1977-i-wrote-a-series-of-poems-about-a-character-black-bart-a/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/august-wilson-3646_about_in-1977-i-wrote-a-series-of-poems-about_2210825.jpg) > [As long as the colored man look to white folks to put the crown on what he say . . . as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/as-long-as-the-colored-man-look-to-white-folks-to-put-the-crown-on/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/august-wilson-3646_approval_as-long-as-the-colored-man-look-to-white_2263655.png) > [I'm trying to take culture and put it onstage, demonstrate it is capable of sustaining you. There is no idea that can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-m-trying-to-take-culture-and-put-it-onstage-demonstrate-it-is/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/august-wilson-3646_asian_i-m-trying-to-take-culture-and-put-it-on_1968264.png) > [I think all in all, one thing a lot of plays seem to be saying is that we need to, as black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-think-all-in-all-one-thing-a-lot-of-plays-seem-to-be-saying-is-that/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/august-wilson-3646_america_i-think-all-in-all-one-thing-a-lot-of-pl_2591074.jpg) > [When I first started writing plays I couldn't write good dialogue because I didn't respect how black people talked. I thought that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-couldn-t-write-good-dialogue/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/august-wilson-3646_art_when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-cou_63809.png) > [What comes forth from you as an artist cannot be controlled. But you have responsibilities as a global citizen. Your history dictates…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/what-comes-forth-from-you-as-an-artist-cannot-be-controlled-but-you/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/august-wilson-3646_african-american_what-comes-forth-from-you-as-an-artist-c_548921.png) > [Scripts were rather scarce in 1968. We did a lot of Amiri Baraka's plays, the agitprop stuff he was writing. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-did-a-lot-of-amiri-baraka-s/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/august-wilson-3646_black_scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-di_107326.png) > [There's no reason why you can't say "August Wilson, playwright" even though all of my work, every single play, is about black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-s-no-reason-why-you-can-t-say-august-wilson-playwright-even/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/august-wilson-3646_america_there-s-no-reason-why-you-can-t-say-augu_2283953.png) > [I think the play offers (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans For instance, in 'Fences' they see a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-think-the-play-offers-white-americans-a-different-way-to-look-at/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/august-wilson-3646_affected_i-think-the-play-offers-white-americans_3200731.png) > [We were land-based agrarian people from Africa. We were uprooted from Africa, and we spent 200 years developing our culture as black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/we-were-land-based-agrarian-people-from-africa-we-were-uprooted-from/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/august-wilson-3646_black_we-were-land-based-agrarian-people-from_1545526.png) > [I'm a black American playwright. I couldn't be anything else. I make my art out of black American culture; they're all cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-m-a-black-american-playwright-i-couldn-t-be-anything-else-i-make-my/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/august-wilson-3646_american-culture_i-m-a-black-american-playwright-i-couldn_604561.png) > [I write the black experience in America, and contained within that experience, because it is a human experience, are all the universalities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-write-the-black-experience-in-america-and-contained-within-that/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/august-wilson-3646_america_i-write-the-black-experience-in-america_3007545.png) > [My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the best literature that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues-and-that-s-a-literary/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png) ## Other authors on Black ## More by August Wilson > [Most of black America is in housing projects, without jobs, living on welfare. And this is not the case in 'The Cosby Show,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-projects-without-jobs-living-on/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I just write stuff down and pile it up, and when I get enough stuff, I spread it out and look at it and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-just-write-stuff-down-and-pile-it-up-and-when-i-get-enough-stuff-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I don't look at our society today too much. My focus is still in the past, and part of the reason is because what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-don-t-look-at-our-society-today-too-much-my-focus-is-still-in-the/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [The director works as an interpretive artist, but he's still an artist, so you also have to give him room to create and to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/the-director-works-as-an-interpretive-artist-but-he-s-still-an-artist/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I dropped out of school, but I didn't drop out of life. I would leave the house each morning and go to the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-dropped-out-of-school-but-i-didn-t-drop-out-of-life-i-would-leave/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [When I first started writing plays I couldn't write good dialogue because I didn't respect how black people talked. I thought that in order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-couldn-t-write-good-dialogue/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [“Like you? I go out of here every morning...bust my butt...cause I like you? It's my job. It's my responsibility!... Not cause I like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/like-you-i-go-out-of-here-every-morning-bust-my-butt-cause-i-like-you/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [“-How long you been with the rail road now? -Twenty-seven years. Now, I'll tell you something about the railroad. What I done learned after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/how-long-you-been-with-the-rail-road-now-twenty-seven-years-now-i-ll/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [Scripts were rather scarce in 1968. We did a lot of Amiri Baraka's plays, the agitprop stuff he was writing. It was at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-did-a-lot-of-amiri-baraka-s/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [All you need in the world is love and laughter. That's all anybody needs. To have love in one hand and laughter in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/all-you-need-in-the-world-is-love-and-laughter-that-s-all-anybody/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I ain't never found no place for me to fit. Seem like all I do is start over. It ain't nothing to find no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-ain-t-never-found-no-place-for-me-to-fit-seem-like-all-i-do-is/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I don't write for a particular audience. I work as an artist, and I think the audience of one, which is the self, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-don-t-write-for-a-particular-audience-i-work-as-an-artist-and-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [I dont write particularly to effect social change. I believe writing can do that, but thats not why I write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-dont-write-particularly-to-effect-social-change-i-believe-writing/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [“Don't try and go through life worrying about if somebody like you or not. You best be making sure they doing right by you,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/don-t-try-and-go-through-life-worrying-about-if-somebody-like-you-or/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) > [Suffice it to say, I'm not poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/suffice-it-to-say-i-m-not-poor/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/august-wilson/#itemlist", "name": "20 Black Quotes By August Wilson", "numberOfItems": 20, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Pittsburgh is a very hard city, especially if you're black.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/pittsburgh-is-a-very-hard-city-especially-if-you-re-black/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/august-wilson-3646_black_pittsburgh-is-a-very-hard-city-especiall_935065.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/august-wilson-3646_black_pittsburgh-is-a-very-hard-city-especiall_935065.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/august-wilson-3646_black_pittsburgh-is-a-very-hard-city-especiall_935065.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Pittsburgh is a very hard city, especially if you're black.” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's no idea in the world that is not contained by black life. 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And I knew that wasn't going to work.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/what-happened-of-course-was-that-i-was-writing-a-play-set-in-the-1940/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/august-wilson-3646_american-life_what-happened-of-course-was-that-i-was-w_2729611.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/august-wilson-3646_american-life_what-happened-of-course-was-that-i-was-w_2729611.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/395/august-wilson-3646_american-life_what-happened-of-course-was-that-i-was-w_2729611.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“. . . what happened, of course, was that I was writing a play set in the 1940's that was supposed to be…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think that's the core of black aesthetics: the ability to improvise. 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And this is not the case in 'The Cosby Show,' because all the values in that household are strictly what I would call white American values.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-projects-without-jobs-living-on/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/august-wilson-3646_america_most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-proj_9584.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/august-wilson-3646_america_most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-proj_9584.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/130/august-wilson-3646_america_most-of-black-america-is-in-housing-proj_9584.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Most of black America is in housing projects, without jobs, living on welfare. And this is not the case in…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In 1977, I wrote a series of poems about a character, Black Bart, a former cattle rustler-turned-alchemist. A good friend, Claude Purdy, who is a stage director, suggested I turn the poems into a play.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/in-1977-i-wrote-a-series-of-poems-about-a-character-black-bart-a/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/august-wilson-3646_about_in-1977-i-wrote-a-series-of-poems-about_2210825.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/august-wilson-3646_about_in-1977-i-wrote-a-series-of-poems-about_2210825.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/august-wilson-3646_about_in-1977-i-wrote-a-series-of-poems-about_2210825.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In 1977, I wrote a series of poems about a character, Black Bart, a former cattle rustler-turned-alchemist…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As long as the colored man look to white folks to put the crown on what he say . . . as long as he looks to white folks for approval . . . then he ain't never gonna find out who he is and what he's about.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/as-long-as-the-colored-man-look-to-white-folks-to-put-the-crown-on/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/august-wilson-3646_approval_as-long-as-the-colored-man-look-to-white_2263655.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/august-wilson-3646_approval_as-long-as-the-colored-man-look-to-white_2263655.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ba1/august-wilson-3646_approval_as-long-as-the-colored-man-look-to-white_2263655.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As long as the colored man look to white folks to put the crown on what he say . . . as long as he looks to…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm trying to take culture and put it onstage, demonstrate it is capable of sustaining you. There is no idea that can't be contained by life: Asian life, European life, certainly black life. My plays are about love, honor, duty, betrayal - things humans have written about since the beginning of time.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-m-trying-to-take-culture-and-put-it-onstage-demonstrate-it-is/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/august-wilson-3646_asian_i-m-trying-to-take-culture-and-put-it-on_1968264.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/august-wilson-3646_asian_i-m-trying-to-take-culture-and-put-it-on_1968264.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/44b/august-wilson-3646_asian_i-m-trying-to-take-culture-and-put-it-on_1968264.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm trying to take culture and put it onstage, demonstrate it is capable of sustaining you. There is no idea…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think all in all, one thing a lot of plays seem to be saying is that we need to, as black Americans, to make a connection with our past in order to determine the kind of future we're going to have. In other words, we simply need to know who we are in relation to our historical presence in America.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-think-all-in-all-one-thing-a-lot-of-plays-seem-to-be-saying-is-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/august-wilson-3646_america_i-think-all-in-all-one-thing-a-lot-of-pl_2591074.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/august-wilson-3646_america_i-think-all-in-all-one-thing-a-lot-of-pl_2591074.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/august-wilson-3646_america_i-think-all-in-all-one-thing-a-lot-of-pl_2591074.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think all in all, one thing a lot of plays seem to be saying is that we need to, as black Americans, to…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I first started writing plays I couldn't write good dialogue because I didn't respect how black people talked. I thought that in order to make art out of their dialogue I had to change it, make it into something different. Once I learned to value and respect my characters, I could really hear them. I let them start talking.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-couldn-t-write-good-dialogue/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/august-wilson-3646_art_when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-cou_63809.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/august-wilson-3646_art_when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-cou_63809.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/742/august-wilson-3646_art_when-i-first-started-writing-plays-i-cou_63809.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I first started writing plays I couldn't write good dialogue because I didn't respect how black people…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What comes forth from you as an artist cannot be controlled. But you have responsibilities as a global citizen. Your history dictates your duty. And by writing about black people, you are not limiting yourself. The experiences of African-Americans are as wide open as God's closet.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/what-comes-forth-from-you-as-an-artist-cannot-be-controlled-but-you/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/august-wilson-3646_african-american_what-comes-forth-from-you-as-an-artist-c_548921.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/august-wilson-3646_african-american_what-comes-forth-from-you-as-an-artist-c_548921.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bc1/august-wilson-3646_african-american_what-comes-forth-from-you-as-an-artist-c_548921.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What comes forth from you as an artist cannot be controlled. But you have responsibilities as a global…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Scripts were rather scarce in 1968. We did a lot of Amiri Baraka's plays, the agitprop stuff he was writing. It was at a time when black student organizations were active on the campuses, so we were invited to the colleges around Pittsburgh and Ohio, and even as far away as Jackson, Mississippi.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-did-a-lot-of-amiri-baraka-s/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/august-wilson-3646_black_scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-di_107326.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/august-wilson-3646_black_scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-di_107326.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eb0/august-wilson-3646_black_scripts-were-rather-scarce-in-1968-we-di_107326.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Scripts were rather scarce in 1968. We did a lot of Amiri Baraka's plays, the agitprop stuff he was writing…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's no reason why you can't say \"August Wilson, playwright\" even though all of my work, every single play, is about black Americans, about black American culture, about the black experience in America. I write about the black experience of men, or I write about black folks. That's who I am. In the same manner that Chekhov wrote about the Russians, I write about blacks. I couldn't do anything else. I wouldn't do anything else.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/there-s-no-reason-why-you-can-t-say-august-wilson-playwright-even/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/august-wilson-3646_america_there-s-no-reason-why-you-can-t-say-augu_2283953.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/august-wilson-3646_america_there-s-no-reason-why-you-can-t-say-augu_2283953.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc9/august-wilson-3646_america_there-s-no-reason-why-you-can-t-say-augu_2283953.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's no reason why you can't say \"August Wilson, playwright\" even though all of my work, every single…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think the play offers (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans For instance, in 'Fences' they see a garbageman, a person they don't really look at, although they see a garbageman every day. By looking at Troy's life, white people find out that the content of this black garbageman's life is affected by the same things- love, honor, beauty, betrayal, duty. Recognizing that these things are as much part of his life as theirs can affect how they think about and deal with black people in their lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-think-the-play-offers-white-americans-a-different-way-to-look-at/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/august-wilson-3646_affected_i-think-the-play-offers-white-americans_3200731.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/august-wilson-3646_affected_i-think-the-play-offers-white-americans_3200731.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c77/august-wilson-3646_affected_i-think-the-play-offers-white-americans_3200731.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think the play offers (white Americans) a different way to look at black Americans For instance, in…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We were land-based agrarian people from Africa. We were uprooted from Africa, and we spent 200 years developing our culture as black Americans. And then we left the South. We uprooted ourselves and attempted to transplant this culture to the pavements of the industrialized North. And it was a transplant that did not take. I think if we had stayed in the South, we would have been a stronger people. And because the connection between the South of the 20's, 30's and 40's has been broken, it's very difficult to understand who we are.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/we-were-land-based-agrarian-people-from-africa-we-were-uprooted-from/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/august-wilson-3646_black_we-were-land-based-agrarian-people-from_1545526.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/august-wilson-3646_black_we-were-land-based-agrarian-people-from_1545526.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c57/august-wilson-3646_black_we-were-land-based-agrarian-people-from_1545526.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We were land-based agrarian people from Africa. We were uprooted from Africa, and we spent 200 years…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a black American playwright. I couldn't be anything else. I make my art out of black American culture; they're all cut out of the same cloth. That's who I am; that's who I write about.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-m-a-black-american-playwright-i-couldn-t-be-anything-else-i-make-my/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/august-wilson-3646_american-culture_i-m-a-black-american-playwright-i-couldn_604561.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/august-wilson-3646_american-culture_i-m-a-black-american-playwright-i-couldn_604561.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc6/august-wilson-3646_american-culture_i-m-a-black-american-playwright-i-couldn_604561.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm a black American playwright. I couldn't be anything else. I make my art out of black American culture…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 19, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I write the black experience in America, and contained within that experience, because it is a human experience, are all the universalities.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-write-the-black-experience-in-america-and-contained-within-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/august-wilson-3646_america_i-write-the-black-experience-in-america_3007545.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/august-wilson-3646_america_i-write-the-black-experience-in-america_3007545.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f8/august-wilson-3646_america_i-write-the-black-experience-in-america_3007545.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I write the black experience in America, and contained within that experience, because it is a human…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 20, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the best literature that we as black Americans have.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues-and-that-s-a-literary/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7dd/august-wilson-3646_best-literature_my-greatest-influence-has-been-the-blues_3123038.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My greatest influence has been the blues. And that's a literary influence, because I think the blues is the…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/august-wilson/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/august-wilson/", "name": "Black Quotes by August Wilson", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/august-wilson/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/451/august-wilson-3646_black_pittsburgh-is-a-very-hard-city-especiall_935065.png" }, "description": "20 Black quotes by August Wilson. 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