Yolande Cornelia "Nikki" Giovanni, Jr. Quotes
-
Everybody that loves freedom loves Harriet Tubman because she was determined not only to be free, but to make free as many people as she could.
-
I have not tried to tell the people anything. I have shared my views with the people but I have not tried to lead or correct them, assuming they need correction.
-
There is no such thing as writer's block. There is only not enough information. If you can't write, learn something.
-
If now isn't a good time for the truth I don't see when we'll get to it.
-
The job of the architect becomes more difficult in this secular age. Where once he had a god to extol, he now has humans like himself; where once he had "he," he now has "she" and "they.
-
I’m a big fan of history—applying the lessons as well as the joys and sadness. If we pay attention, we would see how we affect each other. In terms of time, we are not that far from one another. If we were to look back a century, it would seem like a long time; but, if we look at it by decades then it’s only 10 years, and by generations it’s only five.
-
All systems require myths for their longevity.
-
BEFORE YOU JUMP OFF A BRIDGE OR HANG YOURSELF OR BE UNHAPPY PLEASE CONSIDER: LIVE FOR YOURSELF; THOSE WHO HATE YOU HAVE NO PURCHASE
-
There are some things we do simply because the doing is a success.
-
Most of my books are a two-year project. I tend to follow my heart and my mind and research materials where they take me.
-
Poets can tell the truth as they see it. It’s the author’s story, the author’s voice.
-
I try to impress upon my students the importance of looking, listening... paying attention, in other words. You must pay attention.
-
And you will understand all too soon That you, my children of battle, are your heroes
-
We need to make sure our children travel to see things. Not necessarily long distances but at least out of the neighborhood. On a train. A boat. An airplane.
-
You must be unintimidated by your own thoughts.
-
My main strength as a young writer was that I had no fear of making mistakes. I knew I would and I knew I could and would learn from them.
-
Black Poetry is not for Black People...it is for everybody
-
I always like summer best
-
Favorite poems are like favorite children. We definitely have them but we never tell as the others would have their feelings hurt.
-
Being Black and poor is, I think, radically different from being anything else and poor. Poor, to most Blacks, is a state of mind. Those who accept it are poor; those who struggle are middle class.
-
If I can't do what I want to do, then my job is to not do what I want to do. It's not the same thing, but it's the best thing I can do.
-
We are better than we think and not yet what we want to be.
-
If you're a writer, the answer to everything is yes.
-
Life is a marvelous, transitory adventure.