To have striven to have made the effort to have been true to certain ideals - this alone is worth the struggle.

One ever feels his twoness - an American a Negro two souls two thoughts two unreconciled strivings two warring ideals in one dark body whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.

Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her: but once they are in hand he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.

To write a story about New York that only deals with people in your age and socioeconomic bracket that feels dishonest to me. So much of New York comes from everyone bumping into each other.

Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.