In a strange way, Louise Erdrich is perhaps our least famous great American writer; she is not reclusive, but she is reticent,… — Rumaan Alam American Copy Share Image
I don't have a Winslow Homer or a Renoir, but I do have the liberty to live as I like. — Rumaan Alam Freedom Copy Share Image
I work when I work, and that is often dictated by the things I cannot control. — Rumaan Alam Cannot Copy Share Image
Truly smart people and truly smart dressers share one thing in common: They make it look easy. — Rumaan Alam Easy Copy Share Image
I don't want the staggeringly wealthy Elton John and his family to represent the standard of gay fatherhood any more than straight… — Rumaan Alam Beautiful Copy Share Image
There is a tendency to presume autobiography in fiction by women or minorities. Guys named Jonathan write universal stories, while there's this… — Rumaan Alam Everyone Copy Share Image
Does a bona fide chimichurri have cilantro in it? Who cares? Cooking for your family, unless your family includes Joel Rubouchon, is… — Rumaan Alam Cooking Copy Share Image
If you've ever watched a television cartoon, you know that kids don't appreciate subtlety, though perhaps that's because they're not often offered… — Rumaan Alam Appreciate Copy Share Image
That a friendship ends doesn't mean it was weak from the outset; that it ends says nothing about its importance. — Rumaan Alam Friendship Copy Share Image
Every sense has the power to transport us through time, but it's taste I find the most mysterious, and writing about it… — Rumaan Alam Find Copy Share Image
Obama-as-dad is my favorite Obama. Obama-as-executive, with his stubborn faith in reasonableness in times absent of reason, presided over the country during… — Rumaan Alam Dad Copy Share Image
To be five years old is to be surprised by life. I'm amused by my children's awe at quotidian things - a… — Rumaan Alam Art Copy Share Image
Is deciding what you like an instinct, a sense that arrives as swiftly as my autoimmune response to cat dander? Or is… — Rumaan Alam Chocolate Copy Share Image
Kids are the ultimate trump card: a way to get out of co-op board meetings or lunch with a friend you don't… — Rumaan Alam Achieve Copy Share Image
If writing really is empathy, then understanding your place in society might actually help you achieve it. — Rumaan Alam Empathy Copy Share Image
It's not that a literature for children of color doesn't exist; it's that so much of the extant literature is lacking in… — Rumaan Alam Books Copy Share Image
Shopping for clothes is time consuming, it's tiring, and it can feel like a waste of an autumn afternoon. — Rumaan Alam Afternoon Copy Share Image
I think it's a not-uncommon experience for gay boys, young men, and even older men to spend a lot of time in… — Rumaan Alam Business Copy Share Image
Blackness, any sort of difference, is not a burden. Relegating blackness or other sorts of difference to serious books that explicitly engage… — Rumaan Alam Books Copy Share Image
There are probably some readers who don't want a great American writer to acknowledge that cleaning out the bottom drawer of the… — Rumaan Alam American Copy Share Image
