I begin to think, that a calm is not desirable in any situation in life. Every object is beautiful in motion; a ship under sail, trees gently agitated with the wind, and a fine woman dancing, are three instances in point. Man was made for action and for bustle too, I believe.

I write for young girls of color, for girls who don't even exist yet, so that there is something there for them when they arrive. I can only change how they live, not how they think.

We're here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.

The older I get, the greater power I seem to have to help the world; I am like a snowball — the further I am rolled the more I gain.

If somebody can do something 80 percent as good as you think you would have done it yourself, then you've got to let it go.

The power to kill is less than the power to create, for it produces an ending rather than the beginning of something new.