Holy Terrors

"We can't have theater if we have nothing to say. I was told that we wouldn't have Coltrane if Miles Davis hadn't let him play at his own gig, and that Miles let him play a long time, because he could see that Coltrane had a lot to say. Traveling with Diana, which I have had the great fortune to do, and being introduced to these extraordinary performers, both on these pages, and live and in person was flat-out a life-altering experience. This book turns us on to our cousin Americans and to their passion, their skill, their intellect, their purpose, their resolve. To go to music again, I think of Thelonius Monk, who said, 'The cats I like are the cats who take chances.' These are chancing cats, and enrapturing ones."--Anna Deavere Smith