Nikki Giovanni Quotes

I am proud of the hip hop generation. They are good business people and, actually, good people.

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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.'

Favorite poems are like favorite children. We definitely have them but we never tell as the others would have their feelings hurt.

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

We love because it's the only true adventure.

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.