--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I remember going to see Amiri Baraka. It…" description: "\"I remember going to see Amiri Baraka. It wasn't actually too long before he died. He said, \"You've got to write to change the world!\" I was like, \"Not ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/paul-beatty-6684_change-the-world_i-remember-going-to-see-amiri-baraka-it_1024227.png" --- # I remember going to see Amiri Baraka. It wasn't actually… ![“I remember going to see Amiri Baraka. It wasn't actually too long before he died. He said, "You've got to write to change the world!" I was like, "Not me, no, no, no, no."” quote by Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/paul-beatty-6684_change-the-world_i-remember-going-to-see-amiri-baraka-it_1024227.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/paul-beatty-6684_change-the-world_i-remember-going-to-see-amiri-baraka-it_1024227.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f6f/paul-beatty-6684_change-the-world_i-remember-going-to-see-amiri-baraka-it_1024227.png) > “I remember going to see Amiri Baraka. It wasn't actually too long before he died. He said, "You've got to write to change the world!" I was like, "Not me, no, no, no, no."” [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects a tension between artistic ambition to effect societal change and personal doubt about one's capacity to do so. **In simple terms:** Writer feels pressure to change the world but doubts themselves. Key Takeaway Acknowledge doubts but keep writing. Themes art self-doubt social responsibility Mood reflective determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - activist writing - personal journaling - public speaking - community organizing Key Concepts literature activism identity Questions to Reflect On - Can you find a small way to influence your community? - What does "changing the world" mean to you? A Different Perspective Change often requires collective effort, not just individual work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amiri Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amiri-baraka-216676/) [Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baraka-1635668/) [Baraka Wasn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/baraka-wasn-2302020/) [Change the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) [Change World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-world/) [Changing the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/changing-the-world/) [Died](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/died/) [Died Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/died-said-458198/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Too long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/too-long/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [ I was roommates with 2 of the guys who were influential in forming the Black Arts philosophy. I called them "goons," and \[Amiri\] Baraka… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-was-roommates-with-2-of-the-guys-who-were-influential-in-forming/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [I had a student once come up to me and we were talking about this incident, and, of course, I never had the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-had-a-student-once-come-up-to-me-and-we-were-talking-about-this/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [In 1967, the students at San Francisco State invited the poet Amiri Baraka to the campus for a semester. He attracted other influential black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-glover/in-1967-the-students-at-san-francisco-state-invited-the-poet-amiri/) [Danny Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-glover/) > [“...the smell that came out of the lorry was disgusting. Sour and rotten. 'Jesus, who's died?" he said. 'About four-fifth's of the population of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-higson/the-smell-that-came-out-of-the-lorry-was-disgusting-sour-and-rotten/) [Charlie Higson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-higson/) > [ I don't know why people always compare me \[ with Amiri Baraka\] I was never part of the Black Arts Repertory Theater or the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/i-don-t-know-why-people-always-compare-me-with-amiri-baraka-i-was/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [“He died alone,' said Pious Dundas, old as Methuselah, unblinking. 'It don't matter a rat's ass whether there was anyone with him or not.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/he-died-alone-said-pious-dundas-old-as-methuselah-unblinking-it-don-t/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [Amiri Baraka went to Howard. Lucille Clifton went to Howard. Ossie Davis went to Howard. And I was aware of that when I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ta-nehisi-coates/amiri-baraka-went-to-howard-lucille-clifton-went-to-howard-ossie/) [Ta-Nehisi Coates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ta-nehisi-coates/) > [“The Lord spoke to her of his love for her-that she was his daughter, that he cared for her, that he had died for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garlfred-broderick/the-lord-spoke-to-her-of-his-love-for-her-that-she-was-his-daughter/) [Garlfred Broderick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garlfred-broderick/) > [ As for \[Amiri\] Baraka, he and I have disagreements. I mean, he becomes a demagogue when there's an audience. He's a nice guy in… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ishmael-reed/as-for-amiri-baraka-he-and-i-have-disagreements-i-mean-he-becomes-a/) [Ishmael Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ishmael-reed/) > [“I just wanted to see if... we were okay," she said, feeling relief. "Just to make sure we can be friends. I don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/i-just-wanted-to-see-if-we-were-okay-she-said-feeling-relief-just-to/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [From Borges, those wonderful gaucho stories from which I learned that you can be specific as to a time and place and culture 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/) > [I don't think that Michael Jackson died. He's probably dead now, but I don't think he died when they said he did. I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrissie-hynde/i-don-t-think-that-michael-jackson-died-he-s-probably-dead-now-but-i/) [Chrissie Hynde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrissie-hynde/) > [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/) > [“What the Englishman said about survival was this: “If you stop taking pride in your appearance, you will very soon die.” He said that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/what-the-englishman-said-about-survival-was-this-if-you-stop-taking/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-b-wilderson-iii/) ## More by Paul Beatty > [There are things I don't like, like sitting at the head of the class. It makes me uncomfortable. I'll do it in a seminar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/there-are-things-i-don-t-like-like-sitting-at-the-head-of-the-class/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [In The Sellout I tried to capture how we can talk and see race, how we see urbanity, and how we see our history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/in-the-sellout-i-tried-to-capture-how-we-can-talk-and-see-race-how-we/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [In White Boy Shuffle, I combined my seventh-grade teacher, Mr. Takemoto, who really saved me - I don't think I've ever told anyone this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/in-white-boy-shuffle-i-combined-my-seventh-grade-teacher-mr-takemoto/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [I co-taught a seminar called Small Group Processes with my professor. I learned so much from it, so much about myself, about groups, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-co-taught-a-seminar-called-small-group-processes-with-my-professor/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [ I'll say this, and it'll sound like bullshit, but it's not: I don't really pay attention to this stuff \[Man Booker Prize\] very much.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-ll-say-this-and-it-ll-sound-like-bullshit-but-it-s-not-i-don-t/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [“Hereos. Idols. They're never who you think they are. Shorter. Nastier. Smellier. And when you finally meet them, there's something that makes you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/hereos-idols-they-re-never-who-you-think-they-are-shorter-nastier/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [There are many similarities between Germans and blacks. The nouns themselves are loaded with so much historical baggage it's impossible for anyone to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/there-are-many-similarities-between-germans-and-blacks-the-nouns/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [Like when you have the right title for something you're writing and you get lost - you can always go back to the title…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/like-when-you-have-the-right-title-for-something-you-re-writing-and/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [I had a student once come up to me and we were talking about this incident, and, of course, I never had the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-had-a-student-once-come-up-to-me-and-we-were-talking-about-this/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [ There are always so many things happening \[to us\] at one time. We read Isherwood's A Single Man in class, and we had to… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/there-are-always-so-many-things-happening-to-us-at-one-time-we-read/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [I forget how beautiful and calm California is. It's not so much about the place, but also the age that I came to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-forget-how-beautiful-and-calm-california-is-it-s-not-so-much-about/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [“My litmus test of compatibility is 'Tom Cruise.' I hate people who hate Tom Cruise, cultural automatons who at the mention of his name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/my-litmus-test-of-compatibility-is-tom-cruise-i-hate-people-who-hate/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [“Sometimes it's the nihilism that makes life worth living.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/sometimes-it-s-the-nihilism-that-makes-life-worth-living/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [I think there's nothing new going on. Except that, you're even more public than you've ever been.There's some good and some bad to that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/i-think-there-s-nothing-new-going-on-except-that-you-re-even-more/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) > [“Would he read the paper and see that the Union he saved was now a dysfunctional plutocracy,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beatty/would-he-read-the-paper-and-see-that-the-union-he-saved-was-now-a/) [Paul Beatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) [Explore all 98 Paul Beatty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beatty/) ## More Change the world quotes > [If you learn something that changes you, you've made progress. If you learn something that changes others, you've helped change the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lanie-lane/if-you-learn-something-that-changes-you-you-ve-made-progress-if-you/) [Lanie Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lanie-lane/) > [If you wanted to put the world to rights, who should you begin with: yourself or others?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/if-you-wanted-to-put-the-world-to-rights-who-should-you-begin-with/) [Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandr-solzhenitsyn/) > [Paul Gray - he believed in my art, and I believed in his music. Together, we decided to change the world, and that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shawn-crahan/paul-gray-he-believed-in-my-art-and-i-believed-in-his-music-together/) [Shawn Crahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shawn-crahan/) > [If I wanted to change the world, the last thing I would do is write a play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-stoppard/if-i-wanted-to-change-the-world-the-last-thing-i-would-do-is-write-a/) [Tom Stoppard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-stoppard/) > [Some women are meant to change the world, while others are meant to hold it together. And then there are those of us who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/some-women-are-meant-to-change-the-world-while-others-are-meant-to/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [Curiously, the righteous Pharisees had little historical impact, save for a brief time in a remote corner of the Roman Empire. But Jesus' disciples…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-yancey/curiously-the-righteous-pharisees-had-little-historical-impact-save/) [Philip Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-yancey/) > [“if i am not in the world simply to adapt to it, but rather transform it, and if it is not possible to change…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-freire/if-i-am-not-in-the-world-simply-to-adapt-to-it-but-rather-transform/) [Paulo Freire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-freire/) > [I don't like lyrics to be overbearing. I like them to say something. But I'm not trying to change the world overnight. Something simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rodgers/i-don-t-like-lyrics-to-be-overbearing-i-like-them-to-say-something/) [Paul Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rodgers/) > [Larry Kramer wisely realized so early on that to change the world, people have to know you. If they know you and see that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-murphy/larry-kramer-wisely-realized-so-early-on-that-to-change-the-world/) [Ryan Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-murphy/) > [“It takes a female to have a baby, It takes a woman to raise a child, It takes a mother to raise them correctly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/it-takes-a-female-to-have-a-baby-it-takes-a-woman-to-raise-a-child-it/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [Don't underestimate the power of your vision to change the world. Whether that world is your office, your community, an industry or a global…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leroy-hood/don-t-underestimate-the-power-of-your-vision-to-change-the-world/) [Leroy Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leroy-hood/) > [“I've been waiting for you a long time, Alina" He said. 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What if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/live-each-day-as-if-it-s-our-last-that-was-the-conventional-advice/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) [Browse all 2,043 Change the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I remember going to see Amiri Baraka. It wasn't actually too long before he died. 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