Henry Dumas > Quotes

“If an eagle be imprisoned
on the back of a coin,
and the coin tossed
into the sky,
the coin will spin,
the coin will flutter,
but the eagle will never fly.”
― Henry Dumas

“Hate is also creative: it creates more hate.”
― Henry Dumas, Knees of a Natural Man

“…the people who dwell in the land of dimness, the people who could not see themselves except as formless shadows moving in a mist, the people who had gouged out their own eyes to keep from looking at themselves in the mirror, these people, these glorious people were none other than ourselves: The Americans.”
― Henry Dumas, Jonoah & the Green Stone

“The sun
bending over
the basins of my eyes
this morning
washed his hand.”
― Henry Dumas, Play Ebony Play Ivory

“Some people say readin too many books will stunt your growth.”
― Henry Dumas, Echo Tree: The Collected Short Fiction of Henry Dumas