I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.

One must learn to care for oneself first, so that one can then dare to care for someone else.

What you're supposed to do when you don't like a thing is change it. If you can't change it, change the way you think about it. Don't complain.

The poetry you read has been written for you, each of you - black, white, Hispanic, man, woman, gay, straight.

History, despite its wrenching pain, cannot be unlived, but if faced with courage, need not be lived again.

Love is a condition so powerful; it may be that which pulls the stars in the firmament. It may be that which pushes and urges the blood in the veins. Courage: you have to have courage to love somebody because you risk everything-ever ything.

Talent is like electricity. We don't understand electricity. We use it.