Black literature is taught as sociology, as tolerance, not as a serious, rigorous art form.

Most of our lives are spent in little towns, little towns all throughout the country. That's where we live. And that's where the juices come from and that's where we made it, not made it in terms of success but made who we are.

Sexist language, racist language, theistic language - all are typical of the policing languages of mastery, and cannot, do not, permit new knowledge or encourage the mutual exchange of ideas.

We mistook violence for passion, indolence for leisure, and thought recklessness was freedom.

I thought the whole world was like Lorain.

Like friendship, hatred needed more than physical intimacy; it wanted creativity and hard work to sustain itself

Everything I've ever done, in the writing world, has been to expand articulation, rather than to close it.