--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm a black writer from Mississippi…" description: "\"I'm a black writer from Mississippi. That's what I most consider myself.\" — Kiese Laymon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/kiese-laymon-23232_black_i-m-a-black-writer-from-mississippi-that_278535.jpg" --- # I'm a black writer from Mississippi. That's what I most… ![“I'm a black writer from Mississippi. That's what I most consider myself.” quote by Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/kiese-laymon-23232_black_i-m-a-black-writer-from-mississippi-that_278535.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/kiese-laymon-23232_black_i-m-a-black-writer-from-mississippi-that_278535.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ef5/kiese-laymon-23232_black_i-m-a-black-writer-from-mississippi-that_278535.jpg) > “I'm a black writer from Mississippi. That's what I most consider myself.” [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Identifying as a black writer from Mississippi shapes personal and literary identity. **In simple terms:** Being a black Mississippi writer defines identity. Key Takeaway Own your roots, let them inform your work. Themes identity race regional writing self‑definition Mood proud reflective Type autobiographical empowering When to use this quote - writing workshops - community storytelling - literary festivals - teaching Key Concepts cultural heritage authentic voice representation Questions to Reflect On - How does your background influence your narratives? - In what ways can you expand beyond regional expectations? A Different Perspective Identity can be limiting if stereotyped. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mississippi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mississippi/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [I don't think there is any such thing as a black writer or a white writer. Ultimately, there is someone whom one reads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-don-t-think-there-is-any-such-thing-as-a-black-writer-or-a-white/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [“African-American writers with an independent vision are often consigned to obscurity. The white critics can only tolerate one black writer at a time, usually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/african-american-writers-with-an-independent-vision-are-often/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [There's an inherent idea that if a Black executive producer and a Black director are going to do a movie based on a Black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-an-inherent-idea-that-if-a-black-executive-producer-and-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am not defined as a black writer in the Caribbean, but as soon as I go to America or the U.K., my place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-walcott/i-am-not-defined-as-a-black-writer-in-the-caribbean-but-as-soon-as-i/) [Derek Walcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-walcott/) > [The Black writer explains pain to those who inflict it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-childress/the-black-writer-explains-pain-to-those-who-inflict-it/) [Alice Childress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-childress/) > [At one time if you were a black writer you had to be one of the best writers in the world to be published.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/at-one-time-if-you-were-a-black-writer-you-had-to-be-one-of-the-best/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Of course I'm a black writer. 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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/) > [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/) > [It's easy to whip up resentment against anything that smacks with authority. Nobody ever organizes over pan handlers. So even if a cop is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-gutfeld/it-s-easy-to-whip-up-resentment-against-anything-that-smacks-with/) [Greg Gutfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-gutfeld/) > [I was born in Jackson, Mississippi, in 1969, in a time and place where no one was saying, 'Look how far we've come,' because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/i-was-born-in-jackson-mississippi-in-1969-in-a-time-and-place-where/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) > [To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/to-understand-the-world-you-must-first-understand-a-place-like/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Maybe he was destined to die under the fading shadow of a plastic dinosaur surrounded by pickpockets, hookers, and panhandlers, but at least he’d…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kadrey/maybe-he-was-destined-to-die-under-the-fading-shadow-of-a-plastic/) [Richard Kadrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kadrey/) ## More by Kiese Laymon > [I allude to Back to the Future in the 1985 story to let folks know it was an inspiration and because it literally was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-allude-to-back-to-the-future-in-the-1985-story-to-let-folks-know-it/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“I lie in a bathtub of cold water, still sweating and singing love songs to myself. I put the gun to my head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-lie-in-a-bathtub-of-cold-water-still-sweating-and-singing-love/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [In essay writing, I'm trying to push the form of expository writing. I'm trying to remember, trying to reckon, trying to find connections with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/in-essay-writing-i-m-trying-to-push-the-form-of-expository-writing-i/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I wish every American explored the importance of novel writing, identity, honesty, character and place in fresh-ass ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-wish-every-american-explored-the-importance-of-novel-writing/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“I swear that white folks need to just shut the hell up sometimes. Y'all make it hard for everybody.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-swear-that-white-folks-need-to-just-shut-the-hell-up-sometimes-y/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [Long Division has a lot of Afrosurrealist impulses. I think the book was more Afrofuturist when it was like 700 pages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/long-division-has-a-lot-of-afrosurrealist-impulses-i-think-the-book/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“Y'all taught me that unacknowledged scars accumulated in battles won often hurt more than battles lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/y-all-taught-me-that-unacknowledged-scars-accumulated-in-battles-won/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [First of all, the novel should be a critique of the novels that have come before it in a language that broadens the audience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/first-of-all-the-novel-should-be-a-critique-of-the-novels-that-have/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm also, than anything else, a teacher and a student. And without the four hours, I'm pretty monsterish. For real.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-also-than-anything-else-a-teacher-and-a-student-and-without-the/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm an obsessive writer who needs and loves revision. Writing helps me learn and helps me teach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-an-obsessive-writer-who-needs-and-loves-revision-writing-helps-me/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm accountable - this sounds emo - to black American writing, Southern writing, Southern black American writing, American writing and my people. That's kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-accountable-this-sounds-emo-to-black-american-writing-southern/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm not good enough as a person and definitely not good enough as a writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-not-good-enough-as-a-person-and-definitely-not-good-enough-as-a/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [“I think of my grandma and remember that old feeling of being so in love that nothing matters except seeing and being seen by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-think-of-my-grandma-and-remember-that-old-feeling-of-being-so-in/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [I'm interested in how the confessional is so abrasively critiqued today. I'm not really comfortable with simply confessing but I do think "confessing" is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/i-m-interested-in-how-the-confessional-is-so-abrasively-critiqued/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) > [One of the problems with a lot of "confessional" writing is that it starts and stops with the confessional and doesn't really tie the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiese-laymon/one-of-the-problems-with-a-lot-of-confessional-writing-is-that-it/) [Kiese Laymon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) [Explore all 26 Kiese Laymon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiese-laymon/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. I'm shaking my ass because I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-go-to-a-club-it-s-not-about-being-black-or-white-or-heavy-or/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [How can you be more subject; black woman in a white man's world?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/how-can-you-be-more-subject-black-woman-in-a-white-man-s-world/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Black music has always known, and not been afraid to acknowledge just how high the stakes of Black thought are. To summarize the final…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-b-wilderson-iii/black-music-has-always-known-and-not-been-afraid-to-acknowledge-just/) Frank B. Wilderson III > [I know how hard it is to be a woman, especially a black woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-tyson/i-know-how-hard-it-is-to-be-a-woman-especially-a-black-woman/) [Mike Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-tyson/) > [If soot stains your tunic, dye it black. This is vengeance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-scott-bakker/if-soot-stains-your-tunic-dye-it-black-this-is-vengeance/) [R. Scott Bakker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-scott-bakker/) > [Hollywood is so fixated on keeping it that way because it's generating the buzz, but that representation isn't right. I definitely feel like it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyega/hollywood-is-so-fixated-on-keeping-it-that-way-because-it-s/) [John Boyega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyega/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-biko/we-do-not-want-to-be-reminded-that-it-is-we-the-indigenous-people-who/) [Steven Biko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-biko/) Browse all 11,655 Black quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm a black writer from Mississippi. 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