I can't add. I don't understand basic science. Or anything else. But I can read anything. I've always been able to, and I've always liked to. Even if I didn't understand it, I liked to. Zadie Smith addbasichave Change image and share on social
I don't take notes. I don't have any notebooks. I keep on trying to do that because it seems like a very writerly thing to do, but my mind doesn't work that way. I tend to get the idea for a novel in a big splash. Zadie Smith bigideamind share on social
The library was the place I went to find out what there was to know. It was absolutely essential. Zadie Smith absolutelyessentialfind Change image and share on social
It'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 Smith banalbeginbook Change image and share on social
I wrote 'White Teeth' in the late nineties. I didn't really feel trepidatious about it. It was a different time. Zadie Smith feellateninety Change image and share on social
I tap danced for ten years before I began to understand people don't make musicals anymore. All I wanted to do was be at MGM working for Arthur Freed or Gene Kelly or Vincent Minelli. Historical and geographical constraints made this impossible. Slowly but surely the pen became mightier than the double pick-up time step with shuffle. Zadie Smith anymorearthurconstraint share on social
I have an ambition to write a great book, but that's really a competition with myself. I've noticed that a lot of young writers, people in all media, want to be famous but they don't really want to do anything. I can't think of anything less worth striving for than fame. Zadie Smith ambitionbookcompetition share on social
The idea that motherhood is inherently somehow a threat to creativity is just absurd. Zadie Smith absurdcreativityidea Change image and share on social
In my situation, every time I write a sentence, I'm thinking not only of the people I ended up in college with but my siblings, my family, my school friends, the people from my neighborhood. I've come to realize that this is an advantage, really: it keeps you on your toes. Zadie Smith advantagecollegeend share on social
You can't state difference and also state equality. We have to state sameness to understand equality. Zadie Smith differenceequalitysameness Change image and share on social