I Am A Stranger, Learning To Love

Like A Lot Of Black Women, I Have Always Had To Invent The Power My Freedom Requires.

To Tell The Truth Is To Become Beautiful.

What's Important About Poetry In The Context Of Leadership Is That Most Of The Time, Power Has To Do With Dominance. But Poetry Is Never About Dominance. Poetry Is Powerful But It Cannot Even Aspire To Dominate Anyone. It Means Making A Connection. That's What It Means.

Revolution Always Unfolds Inside An Atmosphere Of Rising Expectations.

As A Poet And Writer, I Deeply Love And I Deeply Hate Words. I Love The Infinite Evidence And Change And Requirements And Possibilities Of Language; Every Human Use Of Words That Is Joyful, Or Honest Or New, Because Experience Is New... But As A Black Poet And Writer, I Hate Words That Cancel My Name And My History And The Freedom Of My Future: I Hate The Words That Condemn And Refuse The Language Of My People In America.