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Dinaw Mengestu Quotes


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Quotes by Dinaw Mengestu

Showing 1-10 of 28 Quotes by Dinaw Mengestu

When I was growing up, Forest Park was full of integrated families. It was amazing. One my best friends was Vietnamese. Another one was half-Mexican, half-black. Another one was from Colombia. Another one was born in the U.S., but his mom was from Germany and spoke with a German accent. So we all had multiple identities.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: Accent Amazing Another Best Born Colombia Families Forest Friends Full German Germany Growing Growing Up Had His Identities Integrated Mom Multiple Park Spoke Up Vietnamese

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Personally, it's a comfort and happiness to know that my work is taken seriously and is not marginalised and put in a box of ethnic immigrant writing in America.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: America Box Comfort Ethnic Happiness Immigrant Know Marginalised Personally Put Seriously Taken Work Writing

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When I began 'All Our Names,' I did so wanting to create parallel narratives between Africa in the nineteen-seventies and America during that same period.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: Africa America Began Between Create Did Names Narratives Our Parallel Period Same Wanting

Keywords: None


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When I think of my work, I'm aware that I'm American and African at all points and times. And without a doubt, my experience and understanding of America was shaped by having immigrant parents.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: African America American Aware Doubt Experience Having Immigrant Parents Points Shaped Think Times Understanding Without Work I Think

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I wrote my first book without being to Ethiopia since I was two years old.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: Being Book Ethiopia First Old Since Two Without Wrote Years

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'The Beautiful Things that Heaven Bears' is very much about America - it just happens to have African and Ethiopian characters, and in fact, it happens to have more characters who are not Ethiopian than who are.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: About African America Bears Beautiful Beautiful Things Characters Fact Happens Heaven In Fact Just More Much Than Things Very Who

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Obviously, in marketing, the best tool is to show the autobiography in fiction. It's inevitable how that happens, but it's generic. Say I've written a story where my sister dies. 'Well, did your sister die?' No, she did not. But people use those straws to grasp at the difference between reality and fiction.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: Autobiography Best Between Did Die Dies Difference Fiction Generic Grasp Happens How Inevitable Marketing Obviously People Reality Say She Show Sister Story Those Tool Use Well Where Written Your

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As a writer, it's a great narrative tool to have that character who is slightly detached but at the same time observant of his reality, because I think that's pretty much what being a writer is - being there, watching and internalizing.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: Because Being Being There Character Detached Great His Much Narrative Observant Pretty Reality Same Same Time Slightly Think Time Tool Watching Who Writer I Think

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My parents never referenced Ethiopia that much, largely because of the circumstances under which we left. We left during a time of political upheaval, and there was a lot of loss that came with that, so my parents were reluctant to talk about those things. So I had, by and large, an American childhood.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: About American Because Came Childhood Circumstances Ethiopia Had Large Largely Left Loss Lot Much Never Parents Political Reluctant Talk Things Those Time Upheaval Were Which

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In high school, I began to dig my way into Ethiopian history, and began to understand myself as a young man formed by multiple narratives.

~Dinaw Mengestu

Topics: Began Dig Formed High High School History Man Multiple Myself Narratives School Understand Way Young Young Man

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Biography

Nationality: Ethiopian

Type: Novelist

Born: Unknown

Links

Find Dinaw Mengestu on Amazon

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