Adrienne Kennedy Quotes born September 13, 1931, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is an American playwright and a key figure in the Black Arts Movement, celebrated for her haunting, surreal dramas like Funnyhouse of a Negro (1964), which won an Obie Award. Raised in Cleveland, Ohio, in multiethnic neighborhoods, Kennedy drew inspiration from her parents—her father’s speeches and her mother’s vivid storytelling. Her works, including A Movie Star Has to Star in Black and White (1976) and Ohio State Murders (1992), explore race, identity, and violence through fragmented, poetic narratives, earning her a lifetime Obie and induction into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2018. These 15 quotes—sourced from her plays, interviews, and web content—reflect her insights on creativity, race, memory, and the African-American experience, capturing her bold, lyrical voice and unflinching artistry.
15 Adrienne Kennedy Quotes
- “I’ve never tried to define my states of mind when I write.” (Interview, BrainyQuote, n.d.)
- “I get excited by landscape.” (Interview, QuotesGram, n.d.)
- “The world is always in a turmoil over skin color.” (Interview, The Village Voice, 2008)
- “To me, they’re the greatest generation. My parents and their friends, to me, have qualities that I don’t have, my children don’t have. They’re very imaginative, hardworking people.” (Interview, BOMB Magazine, 1996)
- “The minister in our church: He spoke in a way that said there was a rage inside religion.” (Funnyhouse of a Negro, 1997)
- “Oh, the stories—those are an amalgam. I don’t think she would’ve defined herself like that, but my mother was a great storyteller. She always held me captive.” (Interview, American Theatre, 2019)
- “I have to totally credit that to my mother. There were two children. I was the only girl. And she just always talked to me. She would tell me things that happened to her … her dreams, her past … it’s like the monologues in my plays.” (Interview, BOMB Magazine, 1996)
- “Blood as poison, blood as might.” (Interview, The New Yorker, 2018)
- “It’s important to remember that I grew up in an immigrant neighborhood but was also a product of black middle-class culture. I always tried to make sense of that.” (Interview, The New Yorker, 2018)
- “The hatred that people feel, I’m not able to articulate it.” (Interview, The Village Voice, 2008)
- “Your munchkins are always welcome to play in my garden.” (A Lesson in Dead Language, 1968)
- “I always loved the wildness of Emily Brontë’s prose and her story of unquenchable love.” (Interview, The New Yorker, 2018)
- “My plays are a kind of mixture of his speeches, and her telling me all these stories about Georgia.” (Interview, American Theatre, 2019)
- “I’m weaving some kind of dramatic fabric of poetry.” (Interview, The New York Times, 1969, quoted on quotepark.com)
- “Help and cry are among the verbs most likely to be spoken by my characters.” (Interview, The New Yorker, 2018)
Adrienne Kennedy’s quotes are a haunting blend of poetic intensity, cultural reflection, and raw vulnerability, inspiring readers and artists to confront race, embrace memory, and weave their own dramatic tapestries. Which one’s got you ready to explore the precipice of identity or pick up one of her plays? Drop it in the comments and keep Kennedy’s visionary legacy alive!
Emma Thompson
Hi, I'm Emma Thompson, founder of MyLittleDesire. I share relationship advice, love quotes, and thoughtful gift ideas to help you express your feelings and strengthen your bonds. Let's celebrate love together!
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