Music was my refuge. I could crawl into the space between the notes and curl my back to loneliness.

Hatred is the ballast of the rock which lies upon our necks and underfoot.

Hold those things that tell your history and protect them. During slavery, who was able to read or write or keep anything? The ability to have somebody to tell your story to is so important. It says: 'I was here. I may be sold tomorrow. But you know I was here.'

My mother is so full of joy and life. I am her child. And that is better than being the child of anyone else in the world.

I make writing as much a part of my life as I do eating or listening to music.

Lord keep Your arm around my shoulder and Your hand over my mouth.

Information helps you to see that you're not alone. That there's somebody in Mississippi and somebody in Tokyo who have wept, who've all longed and lost, who've all been happy. So the library helps you to see, not only that you are not alone, but that you're not really any different from everyone else.