Gloria Anzaldúa on the Act of Writing

"The act of writing is the act of making soul, alchemy. It is the quest for the center of the self, which we women of color have come to think of as 'other' - the dark, the feminine. Didn't we start writing to reconcile this other within us? We knew we were different, set apart, exiled from what is considered 'normal,' white-right. And as we internalized this exile, we came to see the alien within us and too often, as a result we split apart from ourselves and each other. Forever after we have been in search of that self, that 'other,' and each other."

Goria Anzaldúa, "Speaking in Tongues"
From The Gloria Anzaldua Reader