ZZ Packer
ZZ Packer was born January 12, 1973, in Chicago, IL, but grew up in Atlanta, GA and Louisville, KY after her parents’ divorce. She received her B.A. from Yale University, M.A. from Johns Hopkins University and her M.F.A. from The University of Iowa. Packer was planning a career in Engineering, receiving a scholarship to Yale. She enjoyed math and science in high school, but then a teacher encouraged her to write. She was first published at age 19 in Seventeen Magazine and has gone on to become a successful writer.
Quotes
"I believe we can't deal with our problems unless they are first brought to light. While I don't want to contribute to negative stereotypes, I also don't want to write stock characters… I also want to show the ugly side -- our self-hatred as slave descendants in a country that told us that we don't represent an ideal of beauty.” (talking about black writers “airing out” dirty laundry)
“I think the writer has a responsibility to the reader to tell a good story. I think it's more important to be good first and original later.”
"The more race is not supposed to matter, the more it does. It's one of the conundrums of living in America today. And as a writer, I tend to be excited by dilemmas and problems."
"There are so many stereotypes of us out there, and I do worry about adding to that stuff... I hope I convey the subtlety of living in 'quasi-integration,' when the biases and expectations regarding race are not always obvious, but usually present."
“I think the writer has a responsibility to the reader to tell a good story. I think it's more important to be good first and original later.”
"The more race is not supposed to matter, the more it does. It's one of the conundrums of living in America today. And as a writer, I tend to be excited by dilemmas and problems."
"There are so many stereotypes of us out there, and I do worry about adding to that stuff... I hope I convey the subtlety of living in 'quasi-integration,' when the biases and expectations regarding race are not always obvious, but usually present."