We know what war means, and we know what poverty means. We need to develop a better model for reaching out to the world than we have.

The truth is, terrorism flourishes in places of injustice rather than in places of poverty.

You can't be wrong in journalism. Take a wrong turn in journalism, and you are writing fiction. You can take a wrong turn in poetry, and something wonderful can happen.

I think most good poetry is about suffering; I think that's what underlies the love in these landays pieces - suffering and longing.

Poetry allows me to write about what I don't know, whereas journalism demands a higher level of certainty to be worthy of being written.

I worked with two young women translators. One died and the other received a death threat from the Taliban.

The power of the voice in rap is about the expression of truth, rather than the expression of some kind of artifice.

In most of the world, poetry has such a different reputation than it does in Western culture.

Poetry is a popular genre in Afghanistan. If you turned on the radio, there would be a poetry program that would be as popular as The Real Housewives.

Poetry isn't as relevant in the Western world as it is in Afghanistan. And not many people make time for something that doesn't feel relevant.

I can't imagine how Afghanistan's fall isn't going to be ten times faster than Iraq's.

Your thoughts, beliefs, and interpretations initiate and largely determine how you experience your reality.

Not a beauty queen. Not one of those. You know the ones. She was real.

The worst in life, we are told, is compatible with the best in art. So too the worst in life is compatible with the best in humour.

I see no reason to have my shirts ironed. It's irrational.

With great lawyers you have discussed lepers and crooks, you've been through all of F. Scott Fitzgerald's books.

Lawyer acted without authority from our band. He had no right to sell the Wallowa country.

My job as the mother of daughters is to make sure my children see that every opportunity is available to them.

Have you forgotten God? Even if you have, He has not forgotten you.

I daydream about a high school where everybody plays the harmonica: the students, the teachers, the principal, the janitor and the cook in the cafeteria.

Even if people are suspicious of the motives I think that learning and speaking two languages can only be a good thing for people.