Nikki Giovanni

For most of my life, I've thought of myself as pretty cool.

If everybody became a poet the world would be much better. We would all read to each other.

Some say we are responsible for those we love. Others know we are responsible for those who love us.

I spend a lot of time learning about bird watching.

Black Poetry is not for Black People...it is for everybody

Deal with yourself as an individual worthy of respect and make everyone else deal with you the same way.

White people really deal more with God and black people with Jesus.

If you don't understand yourself you don't understand anybody else.

You must invent your own games and teach us old ones how to play.

If now isn't a good time for the truth I don't see when we'll get to it.

I had a really nice childhood; I had great parents. I earned my allowance by washing dishes, and in the summer I earned my allowance by working in daddy's garden.

We love because it's the only true adventure.

A lot of people refuse to do things because they don't want to go naked, don't want to go without guarantee. But that's what's got to happen. You go naked until you die.

Everything will change. The only question is growing up or decaying.

If you're a writer, the answer to everything is yes.

Now, everything I do, I do because I want to. And I believe the best is yet to come.

Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to the error that counts.

There are things you stand up for because it's right.

I really don't think life is about the I-could-have-beens. Life is only about the I-tried-to-do. I don't mind the failure but I can't imagine that I'd forgive myself if I didn't try.

The unwillingness to try is worse than any failure.

A lot of people resist transition and therefore never allow themselves to enjoy who they are. Embrace the change, no matter what it is; once you do, you can learn about the new world you're in and take advantage of it.

Sacred cows make very poor gladiators.

There're two people in the world that are not likeable: a master and a slave.

I think one of the nicest things that we created as a generation was just the fact that we could say, 'Hey, I don't like white people.'

Deal with yourself as a individual, worthy of respect and make everyone else deal with you the same way.

Follow your image as far as you can no matter how useless you think it is. Push yourself.

Art is not for the cultivated taste. It is to cultivate taste.

I am totally fascinated by people and our history as I understand and continue to explore it. People have so much to give and so far to go and yet we have given and gone a great distance. It's really just interesting to ask: why not? And see where that takes me.

We believe 'Peter Rabbit' because Beatrix Potter believes it. You have to.

Poetry and music are very good friends. Like mommies and daddies and strawberries and cream - they go together.

Hip-hop is a cultural expression - it's embracing.

Love is the offspring of spiritual affinity and unless that affinity is created in a moment, it will not be created for years or even generations.

When you are skinning your customers, you should leave some skin on to grow again so that you can skin them again.

If I could come back as anything - I'd be a bird, first, but definitely the command key is my second choice.

We love because it is the only true adventure.

We eat up artists like there's going to be a famine at the end.

We write because we believe the human spirit cannot be tamed and should not be trained.

Black love is black wealth.