Claudia Rankine Quotes

In writing, I search for believability, simplicity and emotional impact.

The great thing about a song is that no one has to know your story. But if you tell it in a way that has clarity and means something to somebody else, then it can apply to their story.

But what I hope for from a book - either one that I write or one that I read - is transparency. I want the story to shine through. I don't want to think of the writer.

You're assisting the audience to understand; you're giving them a bridge or an access. And if you don't give them that, if you keep it more abstract, it's almost more pure. It's a cooler thing.

Some people don't like my songs because they think they're too simple or easy or not that thought-out. I feel like the way I write is pretty simple, in some ways, because I'm trying to connect. I want a lot of people to hear it, and be moved in some way.

Our government should speak a common language with the American people - plain English.

My life is an open pamphlet.

Don't forget there are two sides to performing. Finding the truth, but you also have to be transparent enough for the audience to see it. How many times have you seen a performance and thought: 'Well, it seems to be meaning a great deal to you but it ain't coming across to me?' It is to be shared.

Don't be too clever for an audience. Make it obvious. Make the subtleties obvious also.

Works of imagination should be written in very plain language; the more purely imaginative they are the more necessary it is to be plain.

Sometimes it is necessary to make things clearer than the truth.

Transparency doesn't mean much if the consumer doesn't understand what they're looking at.

My favourite writers are always great storytellers, like Bruce Springsteen; I adore Bruce Springsteen. I feel like he doesn't beat around the bush, and he doesn't overcomplicate things. He puts things into layman's terms and tells stories that anyone can understand.

It would be easier to be more mysterious, but I try to be accessible.

My primary goal is always to tell a story that will resonate with people on a deeply emotional level.

The short form, speed, and consistency of communication by Trump beat Clinton's nuanced, detailed, and long-form communication. Trump came across as more genuine, Clinton as less than transparent. Trump engaged directly with his community; Clinton spoke through the media in a careful and less frequent manner.

Music should resonate with people on an emotional level. That's one of the criterions I use for an idea. Does it speak simply and directly without obfuscation and without being unnecessarily complex or obscure?

I really tell a lot of stories. I want people to know who I am.

'Once' constantly surprises me. I think it's the power of the music and the storytelling that people connect with.

Clear writers, like fountains, do not seem so deep as they are; the turbid look the most profound.

I think it's OK that everyone's not real heavy and wordy and heady.

I think people were a little bit too concerned about what I would or would not be allowed to say. So let me just get that out of the way and get on to the business of telling, you know, a story, or two, or three, or 15. And also to say, "Okay, look. Here it is, don't worry about it. The restrictions and the watered-down and all the stuff that you thought was gonna happen really isn't the case." So we done got that out the way, and now we can just kind of move on.

Be honest about what you see, get out of the way and let the story reveal itself

Solving a problem simply means representing it so as to make the solution transparent.

There is something so intimate about saying the truth out loud. There is something so intimate about hearing the truth said. There is something so intimate about sharing the truth, even if you are not entirely sure what it means.