It was a fine cry - loud and long - but it had no bottom and it had no top, just circles and circles of sorrow.

Long before I was a success, my parents made me feel like I could be one.

When a man angers you, he conquers you.

When I write, I don't translate for white readers.... Dostoevski wrote for a Russian audience, but we're able to read him. If I'm specific, and I don't overexplain, then anyone can overhear me.

Black people have always been used as a buffer in this country between powers to prevent class war.

Love just seems to make life not just livable, but a gallant, gallant event.

The children - I call them children when they're under 18 - are hungry for that love. The drugs are just a sleep that you can't even wake up from, because you might remember what you did when you were there. There's no place for them - there should be a rehabilitation center on every corner, along with McDonald's and the banks. This is serious business. The waiting lists are incredible. I mean, it's terrible. It's really terrible.