--- title: "5 Plays Quotes By August Wilson" description: "5 Plays quotes by August Wilson. Plus more from August Wilson and more Plays sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/august-wilson-3646_although_from-borges-those-wonderful-gaucho-stori_748347.jpg" --- > [From Borges, those wonderful gaucho stories from which I learned that you can be specific as to a time and place and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/from-borges-those-wonderful-gaucho-stories-from-which-i-learned-that/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/august-wilson-3646_although_from-borges-those-wonderful-gaucho-stori_748347.jpg) > [If you want to support a writer, produce the first five plays he writes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/if-you-want-to-support-a-writer-produce-the-first-five-plays-he-writes/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/august-wilson-3646_firsts_if-you-want-to-support-a-writer-produce_1898292.png) > [My plays are ultimately about love, honor, duty, betrayal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/my-plays-are-ultimately-about-love-honor-duty-betrayal/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57a/august-wilson-3646_about_my-plays-are-ultimately-about-love-honor_1954545.png) > [I once wrote a short story called 'The Best Blues Singer in the World,' and it went like this: 'The streets that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-once-wrote-a-short-story-called-the-best-blues-singer-in-the-world/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/949/august-wilson-3646_actor_i-once-wrote-a-short-story-called-the-be_2255693.png) > [I've seen some terrible plays, but I generally enjoy myself. One play I walked out of, I have a tremendous respect for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/i-ve-seen-some-terrible-plays-but-i-generally-enjoy-myself-one-play-i/) [August Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-wilson/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/440/august-wilson-3646_actor_i-ve-seen-some-terrible-plays-but-i-gene_2787418.png) ## Other authors on Plays - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-tom-stoppard-91582.jpg) Tom Stoppard 20 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/tom-stoppard/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b008/author-edward-albee-31692.jpg) Edward Albee 8 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/edward-albee/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b024/author-wallace-shawn-94264.jpg) Wallace Shawn 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/wallace-shawn/) - [Stephen Karam 6 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/stephen-karam/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-michael-gambon-67108.jpg) Michael Gambon 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/michael-gambon/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-annette-curtis-klause-13888.jpg) John Patrick Shanley 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/john-patrick-shanley/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b012/author-israel-horovitz-44874.jpg) Israel Horovitz 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/israel-horovitz/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b021/author-sam-shepard-82563.jpg) Sam Shepard 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/sam-shepard/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b020/author-richard-greenberg-78594.jpg) Richard Greenberg 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/richard-greenberg/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b018/author-mike-nichols-68081.jpg) Mike Nichols 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plays/mike-nichols/) ## 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/plays/august-wilson/#itemlist", "name": "5 Plays Quotes By August Wilson", "numberOfItems": 5, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "From Borges, those wonderful gaucho stories from which I learned that you can be specific as to a time and place and culture and still have the work resonate with the universal themes of love, honor, duty, betrayal, etc. From Amiri Baraka, I learned that all art is political, although I don't write political plays.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/from-borges-those-wonderful-gaucho-stories-from-which-i-learned-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/august-wilson-3646_although_from-borges-those-wonderful-gaucho-stori_748347.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/august-wilson-3646_although_from-borges-those-wonderful-gaucho-stori_748347.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/98f/august-wilson-3646_although_from-borges-those-wonderful-gaucho-stori_748347.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“From Borges, those wonderful gaucho stories from which I learned that you can be specific as to a time and…” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you want to support a writer, produce the first five plays he writes.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/if-you-want-to-support-a-writer-produce-the-first-five-plays-he-writes/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/august-wilson-3646_firsts_if-you-want-to-support-a-writer-produce_1898292.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/august-wilson-3646_firsts_if-you-want-to-support-a-writer-produce_1898292.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f22/august-wilson-3646_firsts_if-you-want-to-support-a-writer-produce_1898292.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you want to support a writer, produce the first five plays he writes.” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My plays are ultimately about love, honor, duty, betrayal.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "August Wilson" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-wilson/my-plays-are-ultimately-about-love-honor-duty-betrayal/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57a/august-wilson-3646_about_my-plays-are-ultimately-about-love-honor_1954545.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57a/august-wilson-3646_about_my-plays-are-ultimately-about-love-honor_1954545.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/57a/august-wilson-3646_about_my-plays-are-ultimately-about-love-honor_1954545.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My plays are ultimately about love, honor, duty, betrayal.” — August Wilson", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I once wrote a short story called 'The Best Blues Singer in the World,' and it went like this: 'The streets that Balboa walked were his own private ocean, and Balboa was drowning.' 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