Poetry puts starch in your backbone so you can stand, so you... - Maya Angelou

"I'm happy to be a writer - of prose, poetry, every kind of writing. Every person in the world who isn't a recluse, hermit or mute uses words. I know of no other art form that we always use."

"Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."

"That's what you want to do? Then nothing beats a trial but a failure. Give it everything you've got. I've told you many times, 'Cant do is like Dont Care.' Neither of them have a home."

"My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style."

"I speak to the Black experience, but I am always talking about the human condition--about what we can endure, dream, fail at and survive."