Nature has no mercy at all. Nature says, "I'm going to snow. If you have on a bikini and no snowshoes, that's tough. I am going to snow anyway."

For a person who grew up in the '30s and '40s in the segregated South, with so many doors closed without explanation to me, libraries and books said, 'Here I am, read me.' Over time I have learned I am at my best around books.

It may in fact be utterly impossible to be successful without helping others to become successful.

I wasn't a pretty girl. I was six feet tall at 15, you know.

I admire people who dare to take the language, English, and understand it and understand the melody.

If you don't like something, change it. If you can't change it, change your attitude.

Shakespeare must be a black girl.