In a long meter hymn, a singer - they call it 'lays out a line.' And then the whole church joins in in repeating that line. And they form a wall of harmony so tight, you can't wedge a pin between it.

You may shoot me with your words, you may cut me with your eyes, you may kill me with your hatefulness, but still, like air, I'll rise!

Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art.

We must be warriors in the struggle against ignorance

I want all my senses engaged. Let me absorb the world's variety and uniqueness.

The writer has to take the most used, most familiar objects - nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs - ball them together and make them bounce, turn them a certain way and make people get into a romantic mood; and another way, into a bellicose mood. I'm most happy to be a writer.

Living well is an art that can be developed.