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
-
When you run the marathon, you run against the distance, not against the other runners and not against the time.
-
I've always loved to help people, young people in particular.
-
Timidity does not inspire bold acts.
-
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.
-
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.
-
In Mississippi, you don't admit that you're gay. It's just an awkward thing down South, which is sad.
-
My plan was to stay in Canada to make films.
-
We must all learn to adjust with our surroundings.
-
I'm the Chris Martin of hip-hop.
-
I do not fear Satan half so much as I fear those who fear him.
-
It was a labor of love and they did really well.
-
You think, 'You hired me because I'm a creative artist with a vision. Don't try and knock it out of me.'
-
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.
-
I never wanted to be one of those actors with a political agenda.
-
Every industry has slack times, and everyone has bad days at work.
-
The reality is, if you were fortunate to be born to rich parents, you have a better chance of succeeding in life. And that's wrong.
-
Computers let people avoid people, going out to explore. It's so different to just open a website instead of looking at a Picasso in a museum in Paris.
-
Everybody told me that if I insisted on doing rockabilly music, I'd never have a chance of selling any records. In fact, I lost count of how many people told me to ditch it all together, in favour, I guess, of sounding like everybody else.
-
I may be a living legend, but that sure don't help when I've got to change a flat tire.
-
People who live in a glass house have to answer the door.
-
When you do music concerts at Taj Mahal and the Acropolis, you have to be careful about your performance being appropriate with the place that surrounds you. It has to be appropriate to the culture - it should fit the building behind you, the environment you are playing it in and the culture of that place.
-
We served on the editorial board of a literary monthly called Face in 1968 and 1969. He was a young writer, and I was also interested in broad cultural issues. We agreed on all major issues and became friends.
-
I'm from Connecticut. My Mom is an army brat, and my Dad is a navy brat. My childhood was fun. My parents are still together. My childhood was pretty carefree.
-
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.