Fetching wisdom...
Choose how you like to read, from short and punchy sayings to longer, thoughtful writing.
“I was determined that I would write about the people around me.
“We are alive. We are alive. We are alive.
“I solved a problem that everyone said was impossible.
“Be the greatest, I am.
“Of all the languages of the world, Hindi is the best because it belongs to my homeland.
“I built fortresses, dredged canals, and fostered trade for prosperity.
“In my soul there is a temple, a shrine, a mosque, a church where I kneel.
“I am not an inspiration. I am a person.
“I shall not be a slave. I am a queen.
“I am no bird; and no net ensnares me.
“I have walked on the shore that I know. I shall return.
“We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children.
“I write because nobody has the right to silence me.
“I don't have time to be ordinary.
“I have been a slave, I am now free, and I am a woman.
“I was born in the night of January second to third, 1891.
“I am a true daughter of Acoliland; I am not a half‑caste.
“We didn't have any civil rights. It was just a matter of survival.
“I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear.
“We write to make sense of the world, to give voice to the voiceless.