"

My alma mater was books, a good library.... I could spend the rest of my life reading, just satisfying my curiosity.

"

A man who tosses worms in the river isn’t 't necessarily a friend of the fish. All the fish who take him for a friend, who think the worm’s got no hoo...more

"

An English writer telephoned me from London, asking questions. One was, ‘What’s your alma mater?’ I told him, ‘Books.

"

The world since Adam has been white—and corrupt. The world of tomorrow will be black—and righteous. In the white world there has been nothing but slav...more

"

So early in my life, I had learned that if you want something, you had better make some noise.

"

I learned early that crying out in protest could accomplish things. My older brothers and sister had started to school when, sometimes, they would com...more

"

The ability to read awoke inside of me some long dormant craving to be mentally alive.

"

I have often reflected upon the new vistas that reading opened to me. I knew right there, in prison, that reading had changed forever the course of my...more