Quotations

"Life is a dream for the wise, a game for the fool, a comedy for the rich, a tragedy for the poor."

— Sholem Aleichem, Russian-American author, born 1859

"I will never permit myself to give in to American taste and lower the standards of art."

— Sholem Aleichem, Russian-American author, born 1859

"This is an ugly and mean world, and only to spite it we mustn't weep. If you want to know, this is the constant source of my good spirit, of my humor. Not to cry, out of spite, only to laugh out of spite, only to laugh."

— Sholom Aleichem, Russian-American author, born 1859

"Now I know my capacity for awe is infinite: this thirst is permanent, the well bottomless, my good fortune vast."

— Elizabeth Alexander, American poet, born 1962

"Art replaces the light that is lost when the day fades, the moment passes, the evanescent extraordinary makes its quicksilver. Art tries to capture that which we know leaves us, as we move in and out of each other’s lives, as we all must eventually leave this earth. Great artists know that shadow, work always against the dying light, but always knowing that the day brings new light and that the ocean which washes away all traces on the sand leaves us a new canvas with each wave."

— Elizabeth Alexander, American poet, born 1962

"Let everything happen to you: beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final. Don’t let yourself lose me. Nearby is the country they call life. You will know it by its seriousness. Give me your hand."

— Elizabeth Alexander, American poet, born 1962

"In the absence of organized religion, faith abounds, in the form of song and art and food and strong arms."

— Elizabeth Alexander, American poet, born 1962

"I don't know what any individual should do about crossing her own borders. I only know that I live a happier, more adventurous life, by crossing borders."

— Sherman Alexie, Native American poet, born 1966

"You know, people speak in poetry all the time. They just don't realize it."

— Sherman Alexie, Native American poet, born 1966

"My surrender is not perfect."

— Mirra Alfassa, Indian spiritual leader, born 1878

"O God of Light, before I end this life, lower your hands into the east and bring up the sun, once."

— Agha Shahid Ali, Indian born poet, born 1949

"If they can make penicillin out of moldy bread, they can sure make something out of you."

— Muhammad Ali, American boxer, born 1942

"A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he’ll never crow. I have seen the light and I’m crowing."

— Muhammad Ali, American boxer, born 1942

"Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

— Muhammad Ali, American boxer, born 1942