Ritie, don't worry 'cause you ain't pretty. Plenty pretty women I seen digging ditches or worse. You smart. I swear to God, I rather you have a good mind than a cute behind.

Poetry is music written for the human voice.

Reality has changed chameleonlike before my eyes so many times that I have learned, or am learning, to trust almost anything except what appears to be so.

The most important thing I can tell you about aging is this: If you really feel that you want to have an off-the-shoulder blouse and some big beads and thong sandals and a dirndl skirt and a magnolia in your hair, do it. Even if you're wrinkled.

There is a kind of strength that is almost frightening in Black women. It's as if a steel rod runs right through the head down to the feet.

It is imperative that young white men and women study the black American history. It is imperative that blacks and whites study the Asian American history.

Dr. [Martin Luther] King was a human being. He had a sense of humor which was wonderful.