Today, writing seems to me like an incredible luxury, almost a perversity, something which hardly exists in the world anymore, where you get to see the fruits of your actions in a daily way.
ZADIE SMITHToday, writing seems to me like an incredible luxury, almost a perversity, something which hardly exists in the world anymore, where you get to see the fruits of your actions in a daily way.
ZADIE SMITHThe young people have a phrase for this now, which is “slay in your lane.” That’s a very important principle of writing. You have to work out what it is you can’t do, obscure it, and focus on what works.
ZADIE SMITHYou can feel bad… I mean, that’s not illegal.
ZADIE SMITHYou’re a library of me.
ZADIE SMITHI cannot believe homosexuality is that much fun. Heterosexuality certainly is not.
ZADIE SMITHFor me, George Saunders novel [Lincoln in the Bardo] is about a problem of pain.
ZADIE SMITH…They cannot escape their history any more than you yourself can lose your shadow.
ZADIE SMITHWhen I was young, I was very technical about these things. I didn’t like to admit to any intimate relation with what I was writing.
ZADIE SMITHThe lack of alternatives to an illegal action does not legitimise that action.
ZADIE SMITHFull stories are as rare as honesty.
ZADIE SMITHCambridge was a joy. Tediously. People reading books in a posh place. It was my fantasy. I loved it. I miss it still.
ZADIE SMITHOne thing you learn about the novel as a form is that it’s always smarter than you are.
ZADIE SMITHPeople profess to have certain political positions, but their conservatism or liberalism is really the least interesting thing about them.
ZADIE SMITHIt’s difficult to tell the truth about how a book begins. The truth, as far as it can be presented to other people, is either wholly banal or too intimate.
ZADIE SMITHThe greatest lie ever told about love is that it sets you free.
ZADIE SMITHWe cannot love something solely because it has been ignored. It must also be worthy of our attention.
ZADIE SMITH