Quotes from Nikki Giovanni

We eat up artists like there's going to be a famine at the end.

I'm just totally fascinated by people.

I am totally fascinated by people and our history as I understand and continue to explore it. People have so much to give and so far to go and yet we have given and gone a great distance. It's really just interesting to ask: why not? And see where that takes me.

The poet Melvin B. Tolson once said, 'A civilization is judged only in its decline.' That made sense to me. I would imagine the same is true for poets and tennis players.

We must invest in tomorrow. And pay our teachers for teaching as we pay our coaches for coaching.

i hope i die warmed by the life that i tried to live

I think that too many strangers were in her [Nina Simone's] life, and not enough people that she knew and loved.

Iife/personality must be taken as a total entity. All of your life is all of your life, and no one incident stands alone.

Everything will change. The only question is growing up or decaying.

We believe 'Peter Rabbit' because Beatrix Potter believes it. You have to.

We have a world to conquer...one person at a time...starting with ourselves.

go barefoot and be warm all the time not only when you go to bed and sleep

For most of my life, I've thought of myself as pretty cool.

If you know what you're talking about, or if you feel that you do, the reader will believe you.

If now isn't a good time for the truth I don't see when we'll get to it.

A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it.

the world is not a pleasant place to be without someone to hold and be held by.

Some say we are responsible for those we love. Others know we are responsible for those who love us.

A lot of people refuse to do things because they don't want to go naked, don't want to go without guarantee. But that's what's got to happen. You go naked until you die.

Hip-hop is a cultural expression - it's embracing.

I am proud of the hip hop generation. They are good business people and, actually, good people.

I spend a lot of time learning about bird watching.

Life is a process where people mix and match, fall apart and come back together.

Black love is black wealth