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" There was never a single murder in my neighbourhood; there was barely a robbery. It was so suburban, it was almost disappointing. "
Marlon James
Never
Barely
Robbery
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" 'The Daily Mail' interviewed my friends in Jamaica to find out if I was ever the victim of a vicious homophobic attack because, to them, I'm a gay refugee. But nothing like that happened. So, no surprise, that story didn't appear. I'm really pretty boring. "
Marlon James
Gay
Surprise
Friends
" If reggae comes from another country, you can have the relationship to reggae that I have to rock. But it's something I grew up with. It's probably something I appreciate more now. In the '80s, I was all about New Wave and synth pop - New Order and Depeche Mode and Eurythmics and Michael Jackson and tons and tons and tons of Prince. "
Marlon James
Relationship
Now
You
" Some of the craziest aspects about 'Weeper' were the things I found out to be true. I mean, true of people. "
Marlon James
Be True
Out
Mean
" I grew up with reggae. Reggae is like family. I know it, and there's a type of love and familiarity, but sometimes you want to hang out with other people. "
Marlon James
Love
People
Family
" I think the Greeks were the only people ever to nail character. Their heroes are deeply flawed. "
Marlon James
Heroes
Only
Think
" I come from a very big family from every economic background. Some of the streets I talk about, I've actually walked on because I have family from there. Jamaica has so many contradictions. "
Marlon James
Talk
Family
Big
" We're not big on irony in Jamaica, sarcasm and double-talk. We tend to say things plainly, sometimes to the point of boredom. "
Marlon James
Sarcasm
Sometimes
Say
" I was the nerd. Because I was reading. I wasn't into sports. I was really into art. Very geekish about comics. Assumed gay. "
Marlon James
Because
Art
Sports
" Caribbean literature only has to be true to itself. It doesn't need colonialism or imperialism. It's always been vibrant. "
Marlon James
Always
True
Literature
" The fiction writer in me likes gaps in stories because I can jump into that gap and try to suggest something. "
Marlon James
Me
Jump
I Can
" My first novel, 'John Crow's Devil,' freed me up to write about the past, and 'The Book of Night Women' freed me up to have a book totally based on voice and being very spontaneous. "
Marlon James
Book
Women
Devil
" We shouldn't romanticize rejection. There's nothing romantic about rejection. It's horrible. "
Marlon James
Rejection
Romantic
Horrible
" If your depiction of loss doesn't make the reader feel loss, then you didn't depict it right. "
Marlon James
Feel
Loss
Right
" Pretty much everything I've written is a mix of excitement and fear. "
Marlon James
Everything
Excitement
Fear
" In 1976, Rastafarians were one of the most violated, persecuted groups in Jamaica. They could be beaten within an inch of their lives, or detained for two years, just for being found in a 'proper' neighbourhood. "
Marlon James
Jamaica
Most
Just
" I think, for me, there's The Book I Should Write and The Book I Wanted to Write - and they weren't the same book. The Book I Should Write should be realistic, since I studied English Lit. It should be cultural. It should reflect where I am today. The Book I Wanted to Write would probably include flying women, magic, and all of that. "
Marlon James
Women
Today
I Am
" I find the violence in PG13 movies unbearable. This kid will never run home, never have another birthday. His death is slow, nightmarish. And you have to explore the consequences - the people who live on with this death. "
Marlon James
Live
Home
Birthday
" I'm happy to not know what I think about stuff; I'm happy to change my mind. But it's relatively recently that I've been able to apply that to feelings. I used to like to know what I felt. I didn't want those feelings to be complicated or muddled or clashing. "
Marlon James
Change
Want
Think
" Not every gay person recites poetry or has read Keats. You can get readers through anything if the characters are complicated. You can't dismiss Josey Wales' quite liberal worldview. "
Marlon James
You
Gay
Person
" A lot of time, I'd spell things in standard English instead of phonetically because I want people to understand what's going on. It's also very lyrical, and the great thing about lyrical prose is even when you're not totally sure of the words, you can be swayed by the musicality of it. "
Marlon James
Spell
You
Words
" At 28 years old, seven years out of college, I was so convinced that my voice outed me as a fag that I had stopped speaking to people I didn't know. "
Marlon James
College
Know
Me
" I'm really interested in how non-American countries process race. "
Marlon James
Race
Interested
How
" I always tell my students to complicate your characters: never make it easy for the reader. Nobody is ever one thing. That's what makes characters compelling. "
Marlon James
Easy
Nobody
Students
" I wanted a picture of Jamaica that isn't in books, and certainly not in novels. "
Marlon James
Picture
Books
Novels