“No. I can survive well enough on my own— if given the proper reading material.”

“Given enough time, I guess anything can look good. All it has to do is survive.”

“Anyone who survived childhood has enough material to write for the rest of his life.”

“I am naive enough to read incessantly because I cannot, on my own, get to know enough people profoundly enough.”

“When we black people commit ourselves to living simply as a political action, as a way of breaking the stress caused by unrelenting hedonistic desire for material objects that are not needed for survival, or essential to well-being, we will not be talking about ebonics. We will be out in the streets demanding that the public schools have enough teachers so that all kids, cross color, can read and write in standard English and in Spanish too.”

“I don't need encouraging. I do well enough on my own.”