When I'm writing, I think about the garden, and when I'm in the garden I think about writing. I do a lot of writing by putting something in the ground.

There's something to be said about a slightly plump person—you have just enough of too much.

The inevitable is no less a shock just because it is inevitable.

Express everything you like. No word can hurt you. None. No idea can hurt you. Not being able to express an idea or word will hurt you more. Like a bullet.

I was given a dictionary when I was seven, and I read it because I had nothing else to read. I read it the way you read a book.

People don't make changes because things are wonderful.

I would be lost without the feeling of antagonism that people have towards me. I write out of defiance.

People only say I’m angry because I’m black and I’m a woman.

A great piece of literature encompasses all that is and all that will be.

...yet a memory cannot be trusted, for so much of the experience of the past is determined by the experience of the present.

I'm so used to being misunderstood.

You can't have favour with God and suffer in life. Learn to have God's favour first, and the favour of men will fall in place automatically for you.

I think mixed women from interracial marriages are beautiful, and for many reasons, all of them good.

You don't have to be broken to create something beautiful. You have to be willing.

Just by doing what rich do... can make you also rich... Rich drink coca-cola so you can too!

Be yourself and you’ll discover a world of surprises, mysteries and strengths.

I go jogging for 25 minutes every morning, even if I'm away from home.

Greatness is a quality of character and is not the result of circumstances.

...physics is the study of the structure of consciousness.

When someone is rude, keep a smile on your face. when you stay on the high road.

Effective leaders of change must serve equally as agents of change and protectors of continuity.