I read poems. I write. That is my destiny. Standing on the edge of the cliff about to fall into the...

I read poems. I write. That is my destiny. Standing on the edge of the cliff about to fall into the abyss, I remember who I am. I am a young poet, a writer. I am here to make words. I have the power to pull myself back from death—to keep myself alive.

—bell hooks, Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood