The joy of poetry is that it will wait for you. Novels don't wait for you. Characters change. But poetry will wait. I think it's the greatest art.

The black artist is dangerous. Black art controls the 'Negro's' reality, negates negative influences, and creates positive images.

I cannot tell the truth about anything unless I confess being a student, growing and learning something new every day. The more I learn, the clearer my view of the world becomes.

I write to tell the truth about the black condition as I see it. Therefore, I write to offer a black woman's view of the world.

The most fundamental truth to be told in any art form, as far as Blacks are concerned, is that America is killing us.

...I write to keep in contact with our ancestors and to spread truth to people.

And I cried… for all of the women who stretched their bodies for civilizations, only to find ruins.