Anna Deavere Smith Quotes

85 quotes in 1035 categories

• Confidence is the mark of a hopeful disposition.
• I am not myself; I am the potential of myself.
• The individuals inside are frequently fighting that their individual voices be heard, while the walls of the place, which are the mask, and the perception,…
• Even jealousy is based on fantasies: a fantasy that someone else has what belongs to you.
• Discipline — both mental and physical — is crucial.
• We who are in the arts are at the risk of being in a popularity contest rather than a profession. If that fact causes you…
• Art simply can’t be stopped.
• What you are will show, ultimately. Start now, every day, becoming, in your actions, your regular actions, what you would like to become in the…
• My work is about giving voice to the unheard, and reiterating the voice of the heard in such a way that you question, or re-examine,…
• Hope is when you look out the window and you go, 'It doesn't look good at all, but I'm going to go beyond what I…
• Self-esteem does not come from surrounding yourself with people and things that seem to increase your value. Real self-esteem is an integration of an inner-value…
• Somehow we can't live outside the politics of race. There's something very deep in all of us, that is taught to us when we are…
• People who are sick, or who have been sick, or have come close to death have a lot to say - and they want you…
• Learning is a tunnel experience that makes us think more broadly.
• President Obama called for a 'we' nation in his Inauguration Address. Art convenes. It is not just inspirational. It is aspirational. It pricks the walls…
• Identity is an assemblage of constellations.
• People in power have to be careful about what comes out of their mouth. They have to find exactly the right word that can't be…
• Suddenly in high school, I'm in a predominantly Jewish atmosphere. Jewish people were my gate to white America.
• Many people are afraid to talk about race because it's so emotionally loaded. We don't have the vocabulary to talk about it. Every day, our…
• Making your life is ultimately an extraordinarily creative endeavor.

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