“She wanted me to remember that pleasure is political--for the capacity to relax and play renews the spirit and makes it possible for us to come to the work of writing clearer, ready for the journey. (bell hooks about Toni Cade Bambara)”

“Politeness is okay, but it gets old and boring. You want to attack life with a passion, not a politeness, you want people to think about you and remember you and say "she is so passionate" you don't want people to think about you and remember you and say "she is so polite," because, who cares about polite?”

“They hobbled to the bathroom, Cade's arm around Michael's shoulder, Michael's arm around Cade's waist.'She killed the wolf,' Cade panted.'I know.' Michael grunted under the weight of Cade's body. 'It bothers me.''She can see in the dark.''That bothers me, too.''When she slammed the door, the house shook.''Bothering me.''She runs almost as fast as I do.''Bothering the fuck out of me.''She called me baby.''Oh, well then, we've got nothing to worry about, do we? Hope she's not the jealous type. Wouldn't want her breaking my neck if she catches us in the shower together.''Shut the fuck up and help me get undressed.”

“As Aristotle said, 'Excellence is a habit.' I would say furthermore that excellence is made constant through the feeling that comes right after one has completed a work which he himself finds undeniably awe-inspiring. He only wants to relax until he's ready to renew such a feeling all over again because to him, all else has become absolutely trivial.”

“When Toni Morrison said 'write the book you want to read,' she didn't mean everybody.”

“To me, the greatest pleasure of writing is not what it’s about, but the inner music that words make.”