“‘They eat beans mostly, this old yellow pair.’ There it was, an everyday word given new life and radiance when set against the skin of an elderly African-American couple: yellow. I understood what my professor meant about extending my vocabulary, not just with new, fancy words, but by going back to what I already knew and making each word work harder. I understood how important it was to defamilarize each word we use, shake off its rust and let it shimmer with meaning. ” — Kevin Haworth
