Gwendolyn Brooks

“Books are meat and medicine and flame and flight and flower.”

“To be in love is to touch with a lighter hand. In yourself and others.”

“We are each other's harvest; we are each other's business; we are each other's magnitude and bond.”

“Art hurts. Art urges voyages - and it is easier to stay at home.”

“Even if you are not ready for the day, it cannot always be night.”

“Reading is important. If you know how to read, then the whole world opens up to you.”

“Truth-tellers are not always palatable. There is a preference for candy bars.”

“Poetry is life distilled.”

“Exhaust the little moment. Soon it dies. And be it cash or gold it will not come again in this identical guise.”

“I believe that we should all know each other, we human carriers of so many pleasurable differences.”

“Live and go forward. And if you must, live beautifully.”

“I felt that I had to write. Even if I had never been published, I knew that I would have gone on writing, enjoying it, and finding it good for my soul.”

“Don’t let anyone call you a minority if you are black or brown or yellow or red.”

“My last defense is the present tense.”