Best 12 quotes of Kwame Alexander on MyQuotes

That’s all you really hope for from a book – that it’s going to resonate with young people and empower them in some way. I believe poetry can get kids reading.

There are places and spaces for black writers to write about race as a central thing. It's important. We're still dealing with the remnants of slavery. We're still dealing with racism on a daily basis. For me, I choose to write books about black people where we are normal. I was raised to believe that I deserve to be in a room just like anybody else. I try to write books like that.

We expect kids to go straight from Shel Silverstein to William Shakespeare. There needs to be a bridge of relatable, fun, rhythmic verse that gets kids to cross over, so to speak, so they can appreciate Mary Oliver and Naomi Shihab Nye and Langston Hughes.

You can't have a dream come true if you don't have a dream. You can't write a book if you don't write.

Basketball Rule #5 When you stop playing your game you've already lost.

Basketball Rule #6 A great team has a good scorer with a teammate who's on point and ready to assist.

Because Dad told you he'd be here forever. Because I thought forever was like Mars -- far away.

...it's just one miss, but you're gonna have a whole lotta makes in this life, 'cause you're just that good, and it's okay to be down and upset as long as you're not down and out

Life is a mountain, Youngblood. Nobody said the climb was gonna be easy. You gotta choose your route. Get your gear. Breathe. Clear your mind. And enjoy the journey

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The heart is a small and lonesome place she is a country her eyes hold the river I used to swim her skin, the morning fruit I touched and tasted the heart is a small and lonesome place she is a country I no longer live in.

The mind of an adult begins in the imagination of a child.