Eden Robinson Quotes

The land and the ocean are living, breathing entities that supported us, clothed us, fed us, and nurtured our culture from time immemorial.

Our ability to turn off empathy for specific kinds of humans and then use faulty logic to justify our beliefs is messily sociopathic.

In a pine tree behind me, an eagle waits out the rain, hunched into himself, brooding. Crows squabble, a murder chasing a raven. Seals cruise the lines of fishing nets bobbing in the water, hoping for an easy meal, the tender bellies of salmon.

Once your writing is out there, you can’t control how other people perceive it. All you can do is stand in your truth.

A potlatch is similar to a court case in that both are prohibitively expensive; both involve lengthy speeches and the vigorous examination and debate of the actions, rights and legal responsibilities of the participants. One has food, singing and spiritual rites; the other, not so much.

The First Nations Financial Transparency Act insulted the integrity of the very people in our communities who guide our economic policy and act as our mediators with provincial and federal governments.

We have good people. We have selfless people. We have great leaders.

Writing about your community is difficult for any writer.

I think the best advice I got was to not worry about what other people would think while you were working on your first draft. Focus on getting it out of your head. You can always edit the manuscript later.

The push and pull of representing your world responsibly and your artistic license is a tricky balance.

I don’t think anyone’s normal.

We can be the new brand of self-extincting dinosaurs or we can evolve.

I’ve had people who see all my characters as Native, even if they aren’t. It’s kind of like assuming all a writer’s characters are really female because the writer is a woman. I’ve learned to let that go.

If I have a clear spot in my schedule, I like to tackle the heavy scenes that require the heightened emotion and focus of a long writing session. Otherwise, I have daily obligations that can’t be ignored.

Autumn. Pretty leaves, pumpkin pie and sweaters. Perfect weather for reading. Winter is great but I hate shoveling.

I don’t see the point of pretending we’re clones.

I don’t really get romance. Bring me fish or moose, not flowers.