“An Hispanic-American writer tells me, ‘I will never give up my family language; I would as soon give up my soul.’ Thus he holds to his chest a skein of words, as though it were the source of his family ties. He credits to language what he should credit to family members. A convenient mistake. For as long as he holds on to words, he can ignore how much else has changed in his life.”

Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez (1982)

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Sept. 14, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "An Hispanic-American writer tells me, ‘I will never give up my family language; I would as soon give up my soul.’ Thus …" by Richard Rodríguez?
Richard Rodríguez photo
Richard Rodríguez 127
American journalist and essayist 1944

Related quotes

Juvenal photo
Sylvia Day photo
Gu Hongming photo

“Hughes spends a lot of time in this book saying what his country never had, and still hasn't got. Actually it's got it, because it's got Hughes. He should give his country a little more credit, if only because it still gives so much credit to him.”

Clive James (1939–2019) Australian author, critic, broadcaster, poet, translator and memoirist

Review of Things I Didn't Know by Robert Hughes (New York Review of Books, January 11, 2007)
Essays and reviews

“I knew Ferdowsi in his respect of women and family and never saw that he reduces the value of family in his precious masterpiece.”

Outlooks
Source: Center for the Great Islamic Encyclopedia, 2014 https://www.cgie.org.ir/fa/news/11919

Mark Twain photo
Leighton W. Smith, Jr. photo
Richard Wright photo
Michelle Obama photo

Related topics