Daddy Says The World Is

There Are Things You Stand Up For Because It’s Right.

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.

We All Have Our Muses. My Grandmother And My Mother Are The People I Write For. I'll Never Have To Worry About Who Buys My Work, Or Who Likes It, And Who Doesn't. The People Who I Want To Be Proud Of Me Already Are.

Poetry Is The Most Mistaught Subject In Any School Because We Teach Poetry By Form And Not By Content.

You Do What You Can With What You Have. You Have To Work The Edges Whatever They Are. The Main Thing Is Keeping Your Integrity.