Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni, Jr. (Nikki Giovanni) Quotes
The only advice [for new writers and poets] I can offer is to be yourself: not the self someone else wants you to be, but the self you are. Enjoy yourself and your life. But most of all travel and eat. That's how we learn.
Quotes to Explore
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I'm uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem.
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I'm typically single. I'm the girl who - I call it girl-next-door-itis - the hot guy is friends with and gets all his relationship advice from but never considers dating.
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I enjoy the sari. I think it's the sexiest garment ever. It shows you the right amount, it covers the right amount, it's extremely versatile, it suits every body type, it suits every face.
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I'm a very private person, so obviously I don't enjoy talking about more personal matters.
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The idea of 'advice,' in terms of telling people advice or asking people for advice, has become not comprehensible to me, to a certain degree, due to feeling, like, for something to be accurately defined as 'good' or 'bad,' I would want to know the context, goal, perspective for it.
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When you're the youngest and the only boy, you get spoilt but you get told you're spoilt so you don't get to enjoy it very much. I was the only man in the house because my parents divorced and my dad moved away when I was 13.
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Whether I'm hitting .100 or .300, I have resolved to at least enjoy every game.
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Flattery is like chewing gum. Enjoy it but don't swallow it.
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The proof of a poet is that his country absorbs him as affectionately as he has absorbed it.
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You may not like the idea of putting money into a home when you're moving out. But it's demanded by the market. You need to show it off. You don't have to rip out the kitchen and bathroom. But maybe replace the tiles or the countertops. Get professional advice.
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Leading by example is the most powerful advice you can give to anybody.
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My only real advice to Oscar nominees is, 'If you haven't actually seen a competitor's film, don't fib and say you have and blow smoke up their wahooziewhatsits.' Always best to be frank and tell them the truth.
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I really enjoy laughing at work, and I find that it's easier to do that when you're shooting a comedy.
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If you don't lose, you cannot enjoy the victories. So I have to accept both things.
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When you take the world record, a lot of people are going to go out there to get you, really. I kind of enjoy that. I like being chased.
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I shall, in due time, be a Poet.
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I enjoy encouraging and inspiring people to pursue their purpose in the arts. To help cultivate and develop their instrument.
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No real fairytale scared me, but Freddy Krueger did. 'Nightmare on Elm Street' scared the living hell out of me, but no fairytale. Maybe 'Hansel and Gretel' a little bit when they were walking through the forest and they met the witch. But I liked being scared, I really enjoy being scared.
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I work out, and I try to stay active and fit so I can enjoy certain foods that I like to eat. I try to keep everything in moderation. I used to be insane about it.
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I love Sufism as I love beautiful poetry, but it is not the answer. Sufism is like a mirage in the desert. It says to you, come and sit, relax and enjoy yourself for a while.
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Who are my influences? Everybody.
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The people from where I grew up have no appreciation for Paleolithic rocks or menstrual calendars. I'm a retriever of lost iconographies. But I had real training and have deep discipline, and I believe in it. Too much of the work I see today is just cultural junk. It's very superficial and has no rigor. It doesn't address the dynamic and real politics of an aesthetic structure.
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Pure logical thinking cannot yield us any knowledge of the empirical world. All knowledge of reality starts from experience and ends in it.
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The only advice [for new writers and poets] I can offer is to be yourself: not the self someone else wants you to be, but the self you are. Enjoy yourself and your life. But most of all travel and eat. That's how we learn.
