Quotes By Nikki Giovanni

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 catchword I use with my classes is: The authority of the writer always overcomes the skepticism of the reader.

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

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

Sacred cows make very poor gladiators.

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

I appreciate and enjoy my age.

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

If you know what you're talking about, or if you feel that you do, the reader will believe you.

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

The poet Melvin B. Tolson once said, 'A civilization is judged only in its decline.' That made sense to me. I would imagine the same is true for poets and tennis players.

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

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

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

We love because it's the only true adventure.

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

I spend a lot of time learning about bird watching.

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

I'm just totally fascinated by people.

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

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.

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.