The happy heart runs with the river, floats on the air, lifts to the music, soars with the eagle, hopes with the prayer.

Martin Luther King was a human being with a brilliant mind, a powerful heart, and insight, and courage and also with a sense of humor. So he was accessible.

When I look back, I am so impressed again with the life-giving power of literature.

I think a number of the leaders are, whether you like it or not, in the hip-hop generation. And when they understand enough, they'll do wonders. I count on them.

Early on, I was so impressed with Charles Dickens. I grew up in the South, in a little village in Arkansas, and the whites in my town were really mean, and rude. Dickens, I could tell, wouldn't be a man who would curse me out and talk to me rudely.

Surviving is important. Thriving is elegant.

I know for sure that love saves me and that it is here to save us all.