The Library Is An Arena Of Possibility,

I Didn't Know Writers Could Be Real Live People, Because I Never Knew Any Writers.

As An African-american, As A Woman I Think That I've Been Sensitized To The Way In Which History Privileges The White Male And The Way In Which Certain Aspects Of History, The Things That We Are Taught In School, The Things That Are Handed Down Never, Never Entered The Picture Though They Might Have Been Very Important.

I Was Pirouette And Flourish, I Was Filigree And Flame. How Could I Count My Blessings When I Didn't Know Their Names?

If We’re Going To Solve The Problems Of The World, We Have To Learn How To Talk To One Another. Poetry Is The Language At Its Essence. It’s The Bones And The Skeleton Of The Language. It Teaches You, If Nothing Else, How To Choose Your Words.

My Childhood Library Was Small Enough Not To Be Intimidating. And Yet I Felt The Whole World Was Contained In Those Two Rooms. I Could Walk Any Aisle And Smell Wisdom.