This site is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Alan William Smolowe who gave birth to the creation of this database.
American Poet, Dancer, Singer, Linguist, Civil Rights Activist, Playwright, Professor of American Studies and Autobiographer, Winner of Presidential Medal of the Arts, Lincoln Medal and Presidential Medal of Freedom
"Prejudice is a burden that confuses the past, threatens the future and renders the present inaccessible."
"Make every effort to change things you do not like. If you cannot make a change, change the way you have been thinking. You might find a new solution."
"In all my work what I try to say is that as human beings we are more alike than we are unalike."
"Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us."
"She comprehended the perversity of life, that in the struggle lies the joy."
"If I could give you one thought, it would be to lift someone up. Lift a stranger up--lift her up. I would ask you, mother and father, brother and sister, lovers, mother and daughter, father and son, lift someone. The very idea of lifting someone up will lift you, as well."
"When you do nothing you feel overwhelmed and powerless. But when you get involved you feel the sense of hope and accomplishment that comes from knowing you are working to make things better."
"All men are prepared to accomplish the incredible if their ideals are threatened."
"Because of the routines we follow, we often forget that life is an ongoing adventure. . . Life is pure adventure, and the sooner we realize that, the quicker we will be able to treat life as art: to bring all our energies to each encounter, to remain flexible enough to notice and admit when what we expected to happen did not happen. We need to remember that we are created creative and can invent new scenarios as frequently as they are needed."
"I have found that among its other benefits, giving liberates the soul of the giver."
"In order to be profoundly dishonest, a person must have one of two qualities: either he is unscrupulously ambitious, or he is unswervingly egocentric."
"I believe that every person is born with talent."
"Effective action is always unjust."
"It is possible and imperative that we discover a brave and startling truth."
"Jealousy in romance is like salt in food. A little can enhance the savor, but too much can spoil the pleasure and, under certain circumstances, can be life-threatening."