"I am convinced that material things can contribute a lot to making one's life pleasant, but, basically, if you do not have very good friends and relatives who matter to you, life will be really empty and sad and material things cease to be important."

"I am a passionate traveler, and from the time I was a child, travel formed me as much as my formal education."

"I owe much to mother. She had an expert's understanding, but also approached art emotionally."

"I learned more from my mother than from all the art historians and curators who have informed me about technical aspects of art history and art appreciation over the years."

"If I win and get the money, then the Oakland Police department is going to buy a boys' home, me a house, my family a house, and a Stop Police Brutality Center."

"There's a sort of sibling moratorium when you're establishing yourself as an adult. So much of your energy has to be focused on other things like work and kids. But when people become more settled, siblings tend to regroup because now you're building a new extended family."

"My father had wanted to name me for Dylan Thomas. He had seen him speak on one of those drunken poetry tours he did."

"What feeling is so nice as a child's hand in yours? So small, so soft and warm, like a kitten huddling in the shelter of your clasp."