"Love is like the sea. It's a moving thing, but still and all, it takes its shape from the shore it meets, and it's different with every shore."

"The first thing a Negro learns in this country is to lie."

"I do not weep at the world—I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife."

"I have been in Sorrow's kitchen and licked out all the pots. Then I have stood on the peak of the mountain and shouted for joy."

"There is no agony like bearing an untold story inside you."