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Michelle Cliff Quotes

1946–2016

Michelle Carla Cliff (2 November 1946 – 12 June 2016) was a Jamaican-American writer.

Random Michelle Cliff quote

8 quotes

It's like amputating a piece of yourself to hate another human being for no reason.

My grandmother's house. Small. In the middle of nowhere. The heart of the country, as she is the heart of the country. Mountainous, dark, fertile.
One starting point.

the store of a million items: stories (1998)

I think that liberation has to begin with oneself.

I think that the problem with America is the dissonance between the myth of this country and the reality. To have to contend all the time with unraveling the myth of America is very difficult.

Neptune. Long Branch. Navesink. Sea Girt. Manasquan. Atlantic Highlands.
Pinball. Boardwalks. Salt-water taffy.
"Don't dwell on the past so."

the store of a million items: stories (1998)

The Caribbean is a place where set categories don't really work well. There are too many permutations. People's personal experiences are very different.

The Kenyon Review (1993)

Most of my work has to do with revising: revising the written record, what passes as the official version of history, and inserting those lives that have been left out.

The Kenyon Review (1993)

In the beginning there had been two sisters-Nanny and Sekesu. Nanny fled slavery. Sekesu remained a slave. Some said this was the difference between the sisters.
It was believed that all island children were descended from one or the other. All island people were first cousins.

Abeng (1984)

Attribution

Quotes and notes from Wikiquote: Michelle Cliff (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0.