Islam doesn't have a monopoly on violence in Africa. And violence plays a particularly critical role in places where statehood is weak at best, such as the Maghreb.

We know what war means, and we know what poverty means. We need to develop a better model for reaching out to the world than we have.

The truth is, terrorism flourishes in places of injustice rather than in places of poverty.

You can't be wrong in journalism. Take a wrong turn in journalism, and you are writing fiction. You can take a wrong turn in poetry, and something wonderful can happen.

I think most good poetry is about suffering; I think that's what underlies the love in these landays pieces - suffering and longing.

Poetry allows me to write about what I don't know, whereas journalism demands a higher level of certainty to be worthy of being written.

I worked with two young women translators. One died and the other received a death threat from the Taliban.

The power of the voice in rap is about the expression of truth, rather than the expression of some kind of artifice.

In most of the world, poetry has such a different reputation than it does in Western culture.

Poetry is a popular genre in Afghanistan. If you turned on the radio, there would be a poetry program that would be as popular as The Real Housewives.

Poetry isn't as relevant in the Western world as it is in Afghanistan. And not many people make time for something that doesn't feel relevant.

Discovering yourself is the major key to being successful

We don't need to start our dream from the top all we need is to make a first step where we are standing right now and say my journey starts now

When all else fails there's always delusion.

Peace is one of the most precious gifts God has promised His children.

My ambition didn't grow out of nowhere. It was planted in me by a community that nurtured me.

I wish everyone could hear the soundtrack for my life that I hear in my head.

Psychotic hallucinations, whether they are visual or vocal, they address you. They accuse you. They seduce you. They humiliate you. They jeer at you. You interact with them.

In a way, being an opera singer is like being a very romantic sixteen-year-old who falls in love with great passion and conviction every month.

Lawful and settled authority is very seldom resisted when it is well employed.

You missed with me so close? What? You failed your assassin training classes? Did you even bother to show up? Or are you just that incompetent? (Syn)