And so our mothers and grandmothers have, more often than not anonymously, handed on the creative spark, the seed of the flower they themselves never hoped to see - or like a sealed letter they could not plainly read.

Writing saved me from the sin and inconvenience of violence - as it saves most writers who live in 'interesting' oppressive times and are not afflicted by personal immunity.

The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for white, or women created for men.

If a person is hit hard enough, even if she stands, she falls.

The trouble with our people is as soon as they got out of slavery they didn't want to give the white man nothing else. But the fact is, you got to give em something. Either your money, your land, your woman or your ass.

Everything wanna be loved. Us sing and dance, and holla just wanting to be loved.

If you're silent for a long time, people just arrive in your mind.