If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: in love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.
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.
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.
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.
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.
. . . 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.
Trying is the first step toward failure.
Planning to write is not writing. Outlining, researching, talking to people about what you're doing, none of that is writing. Writing is writing.
In Europe, it's more common to hear aggressive dance tracks on the radio.
But, as all scientists know, there is a time lag of 12 to 18 months between the time a manuscript is submitted and the time it is published in a scientific journal.