It is true that no one can harm the person who wears armor. But no one can help him either.
Everyone of us is a wonder. Everyone of us has a story.
First it is necessary to stand on your own two feet. But the minute a man finds himself in that position, the next thing he should do is reach out his arms.
I don't see black people as victims even though we are exploited. Victims are flat, one- dimensional characters, someone rolled over by a steamroller so you have a cardboard person. We are far more resilient and more rounded than that. I will go on showing there's more to us than our being victimized. Victims are dead.
I sometimes think humor and satire are more effective techniques for expressing social statements than direct comment.
...I have wanted to believe people could make their dreams come truethat problems could be solved. However, this is a national illness. As Americans, we believe all problems can be solved, that all questions have answers.
it is amazing how all our paths of rebellion tend to lead us straight back home.
...one of my motivating forces has been to recreate the world I know into a world I wish I could be in. Hence my optimism and happy endings.
The boys think they can all be athletes, and the girls think they can all be singers. That's the way to fame and success. ...as a group blacks must give up their illusions.
Writing is harder than anything else; at least starting to write is.
When you get up in the morning, you merely put on your clothes. When a colored man gets up in the morning, he puts on his armor.
I hate, loathe, and despise Christmas. It's a time when single people have to take cover or get out of town.
I marvel at the many ways we, as black people, bend but do not break.
The most amazing thing about little children ... was their fantastic adaptability.
I marvel at the many ways we, as black people, bend but do not break in order to survive. This astonishes me, and what excites me I write about. Everyone of us is a wonder. Everyone of us has a story.
I have never felt a placard and a poem are in any way similar.
