Erasure

by

Percival Everett

Yul is Monk’s agent. He is perpetually the bearer of bad news for Monk, whose complex, experimental style of writing is of little interest to major publishing houses or the readership they cater to. Yul puts in plain terms what editors only allude to: Monk’s writing simply isn’t “Black” enough to achieve commercial success in today’s culture. Yul is wary (albeit slightly bemused) when Monk submits his manuscript for My Pafology, a parody of the so-called “ghetto fiction” Monk so derides, written under the pseudonym Stagg R. Leigh. But when publishing houses respond with unprecedented enthusiasm, offering Monk (and by extension Yul) a half million dollars in advance payments, he urges Monk to swallow his pride and accept the deal. However, he is less keen on Monk’s risky and bizarre choice to play the part of Stagg R. Leigh rather than admitting that he, Monk, wrote My Pafology.

Yul Quotes in Erasure

The Erasure quotes below are all either spoken by Yul or refer to Yul. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Race and Identity  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“The line is, you’re not black enough,” my agent said.

“What’s that mean, Yul? How do they even know I’m black? Why does it matter?”

“We’ve been over this before. They know because of the photo on your first book. They know because they’ve seen you. They know because you’re black, for crying out loud.”

“What, do I have to have my characters comb their afros and be called niggers for these people?”

“It wouldn’t hurt.”

I was stunned into silence.

Related Characters: Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (speaker), Yul (speaker), Stagg R. Leigh
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis:
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Erasure PDF

Yul Quotes in Erasure

The Erasure quotes below are all either spoken by Yul or refer to Yul. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Race and Identity  Theme Icon
).
Chapter 5 Quotes

“The line is, you’re not black enough,” my agent said.

“What’s that mean, Yul? How do they even know I’m black? Why does it matter?”

“We’ve been over this before. They know because of the photo on your first book. They know because they’ve seen you. They know because you’re black, for crying out loud.”

“What, do I have to have my characters comb their afros and be called niggers for these people?”

“It wouldn’t hurt.”

I was stunned into silence.

Related Characters: Thelonious “Monk” Ellison (speaker), Yul (speaker), Stagg R. Leigh
Page Number: 43
Explanation and Analysis: