I Can't Feel Irish To Save My

Many A Young Person Tells Me He Wants To Be A Writer. I Always Encourage Such People, But I Also Explain That There's A Big Difference Between Being A Writer And Writing. In Most Cases These Individuals Are Dreaming Of Wealth And Fame, Not The Long Hours Alone At The Typewriter. You've Got To Want To Write, I Say To Them, Not Want To Be A Writer. The Reality Is That Writing Is A Lonely, Private And Poor-paying Affair. For Every Writer Kissed By Fortune, There Are Thousands More Whose Longing Is Never Requited. Even Those Who Succeed Often Know Long Periods Of Neglect And Poverty. I Did.

In The Bush, Trust No One You Don't Know.

I Think One Of The Most Fascinating Things You Can Do After You Learn About Your Own People Is To Study Something About The History And Culture Of Other People.

I Certainly Wasn't Seeking Any Degree, The Way A College Confers A Status Symbol Upon Its Students. My Homemade Education Gave Me, With Every Additional Book That I Read, A Little Bit More Sensitivity To The Deafness, Dumbness And Blindness That Was Afflicting The Black Race In America. Not Long Ago, An English Writer Telephoned Me, Asking Questions. One Was, "what's Your Alma Mater?" I Told Him, "books.

My Fondest Hope Is That 'roots' May Start Black, White, Brown, Red, Yellow People Digging Back For Their Own Roots. Man, That Would Make Me Feel 90 Feet Tall.