Scott Momaday: It’s important to me because I am who I am. I have a certain temperament. I was born with certain potentials and possibilities, and I have been fortunate in realizing some of those possibilities. I was inspired to write at a tender age by my mother, who was a writer. I was fortunate to that extent, and I did follow in her footsteps and develop a voice, the voice of a writer. That’s what a writer does. I tell young people often, “Don’t worry about having a distinctive voice right now, it comes with experience and practice. You will develop a voice.” Someone once said to me “Don’t worry about imitating someone, that’s how you learn.” And eventually you will verge out and go on your own voice. I simply kept my goal in mind, and persisted. Perseverance is a large part of writing. So what success I have achieved has come about because of that, simply following the line.