A writer will write with or without a movement; but at the same time, for Chicano, lesbian, gay and feminist writers-anybody writing against the grain of Anglo misogynist culture-political movements are what have allowed our writing to surface from the secret places in our notebooks into the public sphere.

The political writer, then, is the ultimate optimist, believing people are capable of change and using words as one way to try and penetrate the privatism of our lives.

Spirituality which inspires activism and, similarly, politics which move the spirit - which draw from the deep-seated place of our greatest longings for freedom - give meaning to our lives.

The passage is through, not over, not by, not around but through.

Remember you live in a community. You have a responsibility to be accountable to your family and your community as well as yourself.

When you are not physically starving, you have the luxury to realize psychic and emotional starvation.

To assess the damage is a dangerous act.