Jamaica Kincaid
Jamaica Kincaid
Jamaica Kincaid is an Antiguan-American novelist, essayist, gardener, and gardening writer. She was born in St. John's, Antigua, which is part of the twin-island nation of Antigua and Barbuda. She lives in North Bennington, Vermont, during the summers and teaches at Claremont McKenna College in Claremont, California as the "Josephine Olp Weeks Chair and Professor of Literature" as well as the "Professor of African and American studies in Residence" at Harvard during the academic year. Kincaid is an award-winning writer...
ProfessionNovelist
Date of Birth25 May 1949
successful failing afraid-to-fail
I didn't know it was possible to be successful as a writer, so I wasn't afraid to fail.
children writing small-child
I can write anywhere. I actually wrote more than I ever did when I had small children. My children were never a hindrance.
real thinking doubt
That is how I came to think that heavy and hard was the beginning of living, real living; and though I might not end up with a mark on my cheek, I had no doubt that I would end up with a mark somewhere.
writing thinking who-i-am
I don't really do anything that isn't about writing, and I don't really know who I am if I'm not thinking about writing.
crush travel boredom
Every native of every place is a potential tourist, and every tourist is a native of somewhere. Every native everywhere lives a life of overwhelming and crushing banality and boredom and desperation and depression, and every deed, good and bad, is an attempt to forget this.
misunderstood used being-misunderstood
I’m so used to being misunderstood,
positivity pursuit-of-happiness thinking
I think life is difficult and that's that. I am not at all - absolutely not at all - interested in the pursuit of happiness. I am not interested in the pursuit of positivity. I am interested in pursuing a truth, and the truth often seems to be not happiness but its opposite.
flower writing garden
Everything I do is because of writing. If I go for a walk, it's because I'm thinking of writing. I go look at flowers, I go look at the garden, I go look at a museum, but it's all coming back to writing.
racism black grew
I didn't really understand racism because I grew up in an all-black society, so I didn't see how it was possible not to like me!
romance dont-trust accused
Someone who knew me well once accused me of being unromantic. And that's probably true: I don't trust romance.
world melancholy abandoned
I like melancholy. I like to pretend that I'm alone in the world and I'm just sort of abandoned.
winter used
I've never gotten used to winter and never will.
ideas facts good-ideas
I'll read anything. In fact, I'll read while I'm doing other things, which is not a good idea.
writing islands wanted
I come from the small island of Antigua and I always wanted to write; I just didn't know that it was possible.