Reported discourse--as theorized by Bakhtin, bringing the voices of others into our own writing through quotation, citation and paraphrase, as well as more subtle means--is at the heart of all academic writing, including basic writing. This article, both in its texture and its analysis, demonstrates that reported discourse must be regarded, and taught, as more than a simple set of surface conventions, but differently--as a resource for student writers simultaneously to be read as insiders (to harness the power provided through academic discourse), and to maintain outsider status and perspectives (to push at the constraints of academic discourse). Several intertwining metaphors and theories will be used to illustrate these seemingly paradoxical desires, including musical composition, mental illness, and queerness. These representations help this essay find its tonic as a call for contesting coercive conventions. (Contains 5 notes.)