I knew that I wanted to be a writer even before I knew exactly what being a writer entailed

As for the depiction of the Catholic church, it's not meant to be a prediction

It occurs to me that our survival may depend upon our talking to one another.

The Great Change is when humankind accepts its role as part of the natural order of the universe instead of its role as a cancer

Words are the only bullets in truth's bandolier. And poets are the snipers.

If everyone could understand the working of a psychopath's mind, we undoubtedly would be closer to insanity ourselves.

Nobody gets beyond a petroleum economy. Not while there's petroleum there.

Seduction... was both a science and art - a blend of skill, discipline, proximity, and opportunity. Mostly proximity.

Poets are the mad midwives to reality. They see not what is, nor what can be, but what must become.

History viewed from the inside is always a dark, digestive mess, far different from the easily recognizable cow viewed from afar by historians.

The shortest route to courage is absolute ignorance.

They say that somewhere in Africa the elephants have a secret grave where they go to lie down, unburden their wrinkled gray bodies, and soar away, light spirits at the end.

Public success flourishes when we uphold private order.

Success is only meaningful and enjoyable if it feels like your own.

I love fruit, when it is expensive.

I have led the way for moving women from traditional roles to strategic positions and inspired girls and women throughout Africa to seek leadership positions.

There's not a word that describes us. We’re not alternative, metal or grunge - we’re not any of that. We’re just what we are.

I love feeling like I have purpose and maybe that's the purpose I'm giving myself.

I wouldn't mind the rat race - if the rats would lose once in a while.

There is an astonishing imagination, even in the science of mathematics. ... We repeat, there was far more imagination in the head of Archimedes than in that of Homer.