The first function of poetry is to tell the truth, to learn how to do that, to find out what you really feel and what you really think

Bisexuality means I am free and I am as likely to want to love a woman as I am likely to want to love a man, and what about that? Isn't that what freedom implies?

To tell the truth is to become beautiful, to begin to love yourself, value yourself. And that's political, in its most profound way.

Poetry is a political act because it involves telling the truth.

Like a lot of Black women, I have always had to invent the power my freedom requires.

We do not deride the fears of prospering white America. A nation of violence and private property has every reason to dread the violated and the deprived.

Maybe the purpose of being here, wherever we are, is to increase the durability and occasions of love among and between peoples.

Overall, white men run America. From nuclear armaments to the filth and jeopardy of New York City subways to the cruel mismanagement of health care, is there anything to boast about?

Body and soul, Black America reveals the extreme questions of contemporary life, questions of freedom and identity: How can I be who I am?

To tell the truth is to become beautiful.

If you are free, you are not predictable and you are not controllable.

A traitor commits his crime but once. The rest/is retribution.

Hell is having arms but no-one to embrace.

As we celebrate the evolution of the life of one so special, we embrace the meaning of life, itself.

Fears are educated into us and can if we wish be educated out.

Holding on to anything is like holding on to your breath. You will suffocate. The only way to get anything in the physical universe is by letting go of it. Let go & it will be yours forever.

It may be true that there are no atheists in foxholes. But you don't find many Christians there, either. Or, about as many of one as the other.

Part of the reason my friends and I became successful is that we were always helping each other.

Every book that is banned is a badge of honor.

There is no tomorrow. There is only a planet turning on its axis, and a creature given to optimistic fancies.

Set high standards for yourself and don't settle for anything less. You are the best judge of yourself and your capabilities.