Quotes of All Topics . Occasions . Authors
The poetry you read has been written for you, each of you - black, white, Hispanic, man, woman, gay, straight.
It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.
I'm here, and I do my best to be completely centered at the place I'm at, then I go forward to the next place.
If I'm here, I'll be trying to be a better human being, a better writer, a better friend and a better beloved.
I want to write so well that a person is 30 or 40 pages in a book of mine... before she realizes she's reading.
People don't always remember what you say or even what you do, but they always remember how you make them feel.
Some critics will write 'Maya Angelou is a natural writer' - which is right after being a natural heart surgeon.
I want to write so well that a person is 30 or 40 pages in a book of mine ... before she realizes she's reading.
I love the song 'I Hope You Dance' by Lee Ann Womack. I was going to write that song, but someone beat me to it.
You are the sum total of everything you've seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot- it's all right there.
Every day I awaken I am grateful. My intent is to be totally present in that day. And laugh as much as possible.
In a world so rife with vulgarity, with brutality and violence, love exists. I’m grateful to know that it exists.
I want to thank you, Lord, for life and all that's in it. Thank you for the day and for the hour, and the minute.
It's very important to know the neighbor next door and the people down the street and the people in another race.
Self-pity in its early stage is as snug as a feather mattress. Only when it hardens does it become uncomfortable.
I note the obvious differences between each sort and type, but we are more alike, my friends, than we are unalike.
I am serious, so I laugh a lot. You need to laugh. You don't laugh enough. I don't trust anyone who doesn't laugh.
The devil lives in our mistakes, the lord lives in our rights. Who lives in our ignorance, and who wins after all?
Whatever you want to do, if you want to be great at it, you have to love it and be able to make sacrifices for it.
Creativity or talent, like electricity, is something I don't understand but something I'm able to harness and use.
Whining is not only graceless, but it can be dangerous. It can alert a brute that a victim is in the neighborhood.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
The area where we are the greatest is the area in which we inspire, encourage and connect with another human being.
Modesty is a learned affectation. And as soon as life slams the modest person against the wall, that modesty drops.
People are too busy putting things under microscopes and so forth. Creativity is greater than the sum of its parts.
I would like to be known as an intelligent woman, a courageous woman, a loving woman, a woman who teaches by being.
We need to remember that we are all created creative and can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed.
I wrote some of the worst poetry west from the Mississippi River, but I wrote. And I finally sometimes got it right.
Every day offers you 10,000 reasons to cry, but if you can find just one reason to laugh then you will be all right.
I think a nap or a rest overnight is great. But who needs three days of rest? Please! The second day, you might die.
The terrorist action of 9/11 gave birth to President Obama's entry to the White House. Not directly, but indirectly.
Take a month and show some kindness for the folks who thought that blindness was an illness that affected eyes alone.
Those who have something to say accept the fact that that's lonely. One already knows that there will be adversaries.
Listen to some good poetry. You see? It keeps us from thinking we are only what our blatant appetites describe us as.
I love a Hebrew National hot dog with an ice-cold Corona - no lime. If the phone rings, I won't answer until I'm done.
Thank you, always say thank you; it's the greatest gift you can give someone; because thank you is what you say to God.
Each time a woman stands up for herself, without knowing it possibly, without claiming it, she stands up for all women.
I've learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents, you'll miss them when they're gone from your life.
Does my sexiness upset you? Does it come as a surprise That I dance like I've got diamonds At the meeting of my thighs?
I learned a long time ago the wisest thing I can do is be on my own side, be an advocate for myself and others like me.
The woman who truly intends to live a good life is already living phenomenally since intent is part of the achievement.
When I say 'I am a Christian', I'm not shouting 'I'm saved'. I'm whispering 'I get lost'. That is why I chose this way.
Love recognizes no barriers. It jumps hurdles, leaps fences, penetrates walls to arrive at its destination full of hope.
When I'm writing, I write. And then it's as if the muse is convinced that I'm serious and says, 'Okay. Okay. I'll come.'
But from a distance. I would have left you whole and wholly for the delectation of those who wanted more and cared less.
I think we have systematically and critically harmed ourselves and many young people by advising them not to try things.
I like chicken a lot because chicken is generous - that is to say, it's obedient. It will do whatever you tell it to do.
Being free is being able to accept people for what they are, and not try to understand all they are or be what they are.
In spite of everything that was done to me and my race, in spite of the adversity and the bitter moments, again we rise.
The happy heart runs with the river, floats on the air, lifts to the music, soars with the eagle, hopes with the prayer.