I know that my books are worthy, which is separate from me.
Interpretation
The value of one's work is independent of the person who created it.
Toni Morrison emphasizes that the worth of her books exists independently from her as an individual. This suggests that art and literature can hold intrinsic value and significance beyond the identity or reputation of the creator, pointing to the universal truths and messages that resonate with readers regardless of the author's personal attributes or experiences.
In practice
This quote can be used during a literature appreciation class to highlight the importance of analyzing texts independently from their authors.
There is a certain kind of peace that is not merely the absence of war. It is larger than that. The peace I am thinking of is not at the mercy of history's rule, nor is it a passive surrender to the status quo. The peace I am thinking of is the dance of an open mind when it engages another equally open one -- an activity that occurs most naturally, most often in the reading/writing world we live in. Accessible as it is, this particular kind of peace warrants vigilance.
You looking good." "Devil's confusion. He lets me look good long as I feel bad.
What do you say? There really are no words for that. There really aren't. Somebody tries to say, 'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' People say that to me. There's no language for it. Sorry doesn't do it. I think you should just hug people and mop their floor or something.
An innocent man is a sin before God. Inhuman and therefore untrustworthy. No man should live without absorbing the sins of his kind, the foul air of his innocence, even if it did wilt rows of angel trumpets and cause them to fall from their vines.
Like friendship, hatred needed more than physical intimacy; it wanted creativity and hard work to sustain itself
One of my kids was born in 1968. There were going to be political difficulties, but they were never going to have that level of hatred and contempt that my brothers and my sister and myself were exposed to.
I have been trying to point out that in our lives chance may have an astonishing influence and, if I may offer advice to the young laboratory worker, it would be this-never neglect an extraordinary appearance or happening. It may be-usually is, in fact-a false alarm that leads to nothing, but may on the other hand be the clue provided by fate to lead you to some important advance.
The calm man is not the man who is dull. You must not mistake Sattva for dullness or laziness. The calm man is the one who has control over the mind waves. Activity is the manifestation of inferior strength, calmness, of the superior.
Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer.
Experience without theory is blind, but theory without experience is mere intellectual play.
Confidence is a reduction of your own interest in whether others are thinking about you and if so, what they're thinking.
Nothing makes one old so quickly as the ever-present thought that one is growing older.
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