The worst thing about that kind of prejudice... is that while you feel hurt and angry and all the rest of it, it feeds you self-doubt. You start thinking, perhaps I am not good enough.

You've got to learn to leave the table When love's no longer being served".

I tell you what freedom is to me: no fear.

What kept me sane was knowing that things would change, and it was a question of keeping myself together until they did.

You can't help it. An artist's duty, as far as I'm concerned, is to reflect the times.

Life is short. People are not easy to know. They're not easy to know, so if you don't tell them how you feel, you're not going to get anywhere, I feel.

You have to learn to get up from the table when love is not being served.

Talent is a burden not a joy. I am not of this planet. I do not come from you. I am not like you.

How do you explain what it feels like to get on the stage and make poetry that you know sinks into the hearts and souls of people who are unable to express it

There's no excuse for the young people not knowing who the heroes and heroines are or were.

Slavery has never been abolished from America's way of thinking.

Achievements of life are momentary, but realizations are longer lasting.

It 's the time of year when Canadians mate.

O blissful poverty! Nature, too partial! to thy lot assigns Health, freedom, innocence, and downy peace, Her real goods; and only mocks the great, With empty pageantries!

I refused to let go of what I had.

When I invite a woman to dinner, I expect her to look at my face. That's the price she has to pay.

I wanted to write literature that pushed people into their lives rather than helping people escape from them.

I have T.V. on all the time when I'm writing. I have music on. I'm engaged with the world.

I don't just come from a musical family, but from a musical community.

The facade is the ego. It is motivated by our seeking love. The only reward is frustration, as it is only by loving that one finds love.

I am extremely spiritual. I've not gone into this before because it's personal, but faith is the core of my life.