Anna Deavere Smith Quotes
I was a mimic when I was a child. I mimicked the teacher and made friends that way, actually. That was a very subversive activity, because I was a goody-goody who never got in trouble. But if I went off in the corner and mimicked the teacher, people loved it.
Quotes to Explore
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When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time.
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I've always loved to help people, young people in particular.
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Timidity does not inspire bold acts.
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One of the biggest lessons I've learned during my time on 'Oprah' is that everyone wants to be heard. We all want to have our humanity acknowledged - to have others see us for who we truly are. We all want to know that we are valued, we are heard, we are understood.
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New York is a field of tireless and antagonistic interests undoubtedly fascinating but horribly unreal. Everybody is looking at everybody else a foolish crowd walking on mirrors.
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In Mississippi, you don't admit that you're gay. It's just an awkward thing down South, which is sad.
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My plan was to stay in Canada to make films.
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It's tough to be 68 and dating. I've given it up now.
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We must all learn to adjust with our surroundings.
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I'm the Chris Martin of hip-hop.
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I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.
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It was a labor of love and they did really well.
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You think, 'You hired me because I'm a creative artist with a vision. Don't try and knock it out of me.'
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A democracy thrives on diversity. Tyranny oppresses it.
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Dating is kind of hard. Like dinner or something like that. Like a forced awkward situation is very strange. Especially for me, for some reason.
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Whenever I hear that I'm on the brink of stardom, I feel like I want to run into a cave.
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I never wanted to be one of those actors with a political agenda.
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Every industry has slack times, and everyone has bad days at work.
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A standard line, promoted by people like Clement Greenberg, is that politics contaminates art, and Manet is often cited as an example of art for art's sake.
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Let the Palestinians run their affairs: create a situation in which no Israeli soldier will have to maintain public order, whether in Gaza or the West Bank. Let's give it to the Palestinians, as long as there is security for us. No more occupying another people.
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Nobody I represent is pretending to be the pope or a role model for young people. People have to live their lives. They have the right to smoke if they want.
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We use the same possessive pronouns for everything, but do we own our lives or sisters or husbands in the same way we own our shoes? Do we own any of them at all?
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My family keeps me pretty grounded. Like if I try anything diva, they're like, 'Oh shut up. Go and do the dishwasher.'
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I was a mimic when I was a child. I mimicked the teacher and made friends that way, actually. That was a very subversive activity, because I was a goody-goody who never got in trouble. But if I went off in the corner and mimicked the teacher, people loved it.
