Here are 10 seminal quotes from the author August Wilson. Together, they capture his simple spirit and piercing outlook -- his playful yet contemplative approach to life.

1."What comes forth from you as an artist cannot be controlled. But you have responsibilities as a global citizen. Your history dictates your duty. And by writing about black people, you are not limiting yourself. The experiences of African Americans are as wide open as God's closet."

2. "As soon as white folks say a play's good, the theater is jammed with blacks and whites."

3. "Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness. Your willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength."

4."I still don't know what works until it works, until I see it working. It wasn't through seeing other playwrights or reading other plays, because I haven't done much of either of those. Again, you have an intuitive sense that this is dramatic or a nice shape to a scene; you intuitively know how to tell a good story... where the highlights are, what information to withhold, and how to reveal things."

5. "When you look at a fellow, if you taught yourself to look for it, you can see his song written on him. Tell you what kind of man he is in the world."

6.."I don't have a musical background. But I do enjoy all kinds of music. It's an expression of the human spirit that illuminates our humanity. "

7."Young people would do well to understand [jazz and the blues] as the roots of today's rap, rather than some antique to be tossed away."

8."I feel sort of embarrassed I don't go to plays, but I can't keep the characters straight."

9."Regardless of the medium, rewriting and more rewriting is still necessary. No one gets anything right the first time, and since I don't write with a hammer and chisel, it's relatively easy for me to change. "

10."Words are free."