...much Of What Was Said

When I Pick A Story, I'm Very Much Aware Of The Larger Issues That It's Illuminating. But One Of The Things That I, As A Writer, Feel Strongly About Is That Nobody Is Representative. That's Just Narrative Nonsense. People May Be Part Of A Larger Story Or Structure Or Institution, But They're Still People. Making Them Representative Loses Sight Of That. Which Is Why A Lot Of Writing About Low-income People Makes Them Into Saints, Perfect In Their Suffering.

We Often Have An Exaggerated Sense Of What Nonprofits And Governments Are Doing To Help The Poor, But The Really Inspiring Thing Is How Much The Poor Are Doing To Help Themselves.

I'm Useless When I Meet Writers I Love - I Go Slack-jawed And Stupid With Awe.

I've Said It Before And I'll Say It Again: Never Trust Anyone Who Tells You How People Come To Trust Them.

As A Reporter, You Know The Tropes Of How Stories On Poverty Work In Any Country. A Reporter Will Go To An Ngo And Say, "tell Me About The Good Work That You're Doing And Introduce Me To The Poor People Who Represent The Kind Of Help You Give." It Serves To Streamline The Storytelling, But It Gives You A Lopsided Cosmos In Which Almost Every Poor Person You Read About Is Involved With A Ngo Helping Him. Our Understanding Of Poverty And How People Escape From Poverty, In Any Country, Is Quite Distorted.