Woodson, who won for “Brown Girl Dreaming,” her memoir in verse of growing up African-American in the nineteen-sixties and seventies, said, “It’s so important that we talk to our old people before they become ancestors, and get their stories.” 

I have framed those words and placed them above my desk while I work on Annotated African American Folktales.

And here’s Ursula LeGuin

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/11/20/365434149/book-news-ursula-k-le-guin-steals-the-show-at-the-national-book-awards

I was a fan of Lemony Snicket until I watched this:

http://gawker.com/lemony-snicket-makes-series-of-racist-jokes-at-national-1661096744