Pearl Cleage Quotes

Quotes about:

Loneliness Solitude Writing

We danced too wild, and we sang too long, and we hugged too hard, and we kissed too sweet, and howled just as loud as we wanted to howl, because by now we were all old enough to know that what looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight.

Pearl Cleage

Sweet, Crazy, Ordinary Days

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...no woman can love a weak man hard enough to make him strong.

Pearl Cleage

Being Strong, Men, Weak Man

Pearl Cleage (2011). “Just Wanna Testify: A Novel”, p.153, One World

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Discomfort is always a necessary part of enlightenment.

Pearl Cleage

Enlightenment, Brilliant, Discomfort

"The Beautiful Discomfort of John Ridley’s American Crime" by Wade Davis II, www.huffingtonpost.com. March 10, 2015.

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Loneliness is black coffee and late-night television; solitude is herb tea and soft music. Solitude, quality solitude, is an assertion of self-worth, because only in the stillness can we hear the truth of our own unique voices.

Pearl Cleage

Loneliness, Coffee, Self Worth

Pearl Cleage (1990). “Mad at Miles: a blackwoman's guide to truth”, Cleage Group

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Sometimes you meet yourself on the road before you have a chance to learn the appropriate greeting. Faced with your own possibilities, the hard part is knowing a speech is not required. All you have to say is yes.

Pearl Cleage

Inspiration, Knowing, Speech

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It is a dangerous time to be a black woman in America. It’s a time when we are not safe in the streets or at home or at school or at work and nobody seems to be able to do anything about it. Nobody. Not us. Not our mommas. Not the police. Not the people we elected to look out for our interests. Nobody. We’re just out here. (p.53)

Pearl Cleage

Home, School, America

Pearl Cleage (1993). “Deals With the Devil: And Other Reasons to Riot”

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...freedom can be a full-time job if you let it.

Pearl Cleage

Jobs, Full Time Jobs, Ifs

Pearl Cleage (2010). “Till You Hear from Me: A Novel”, p.161, One World/Ballantine

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When you're young, there's a whole lot of stuff you say you'll never do. Once you get a little older, the list tends to get shorter.

Pearl Cleage

Littles, Stuff, Lists

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the problem with knowing is that it takes away the possibility of pretending!

Pearl Cleage

Knowing, Problem, Possibility

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Sometimes you have to show them what they want to see in order to get them to show you who they really are.

Pearl Cleage

Order, Want, Sometimes

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you can't know the meaning of the lesson until class is over!

Pearl Cleage

Class, Lessons, Knows

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Feminism is to sexism what black nationalism is to racism; the most rational response to the problem.

Pearl Cleage

Racism, Justice, Diversity

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I think that theater is a unique way to communicate with people as they gather together with other people they may not even know. It creates a sense of shared community for the time of the performance that hopefully carries over into other aspects of the audience's life because they have shared this experience together.

Pearl Cleage

Unique, Thinking, People

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You know the Buddhists believe that sometimes when everything is in turmoil, it's because something wonderful is ready to be born and that thing is distracting you so it can have some privacy during the birthing process.

Pearl Cleage

Buddhist, Believe, Privacy

Pearl Cleage (2009). “I Wish I Had a Red Dress”, p.27, Harper Collins

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old habits are hard to break, but not impossible!

Pearl Cleage

Old Habits, Impossible, Break

Pearl Cleage (1997). “What Looks Like Crazy on an Ordinary Day”

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Buying flowers is not just a way to bring home beauty. It's an expression of confidence that better days are coming. It's a defiant finger in the face of those naysayers who would have you believe your fortunes will never improve.

Pearl Cleage

Believe, Flower, Home

Pearl Cleage (2009). “Some Things I Never Thought I'd Do: A Novel”, p.8, One World

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I think it's hard to make a living as a writer, but I think it's hard to work at McDonald's too.... I think the commitment is to get up everyday and say, "I'm a writer, therefore what I'm supposed to do today is write." And to do that, and to do that and to do that.

Pearl Cleage

Success, Commitment, Writing

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Sisterhood is a funny thing. It's easy to recognize, but hard to define.

Pearl Cleage

Sisterhood, Funny Things, Easy

Pearl Cleage (1993). “Deals With the Devil: And Other Reasons to Riot”

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Putting words on paper regularly is part of the necessary discipline of writing. A journal is a great way to do that.

Pearl Cleage

Writing, Discipline, Paper

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a lot of brothers don't understand. When it comes to making love, reciprocity is everything.

Pearl Cleage

Brother, Sex, Making Love

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Vera Stark is a fabulous force of nature.

Pearl Cleage

Fabulous, Force, Forces Of Nature

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What looks like crazy on an ordinary day looks looks a lot like love if you catch it in the moonlight.

Pearl Cleage

Crazy, Ordinary Days, Like Love

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Any time your life is at stake and you can't find even one woman to come forward and say, 'This is a good man,' your problem isn't what kind of woman THEY are. Your problem is what kind of men YOU are.

Pearl Cleage

Men, Good Man, Kind

Pearl Cleage (2011). “Just Wanna Testify: A Novel”, p.148, One World

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I really love writing comedy. Writing romantic comedy is even nicer because you get to write about how insane we all act when we're falling in love.

Pearl Cleage

Falling In Love, Writing, Insane

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I think the black community is no different from any other community. We need to take responsibility for how we live together. We need to be personally responsible for keeping our streets clean, our schools safe, and our houses peaceful.

Pearl Cleage

School, Responsibility, Thinking

"Q and A with Author Pearl Cleage". Q and A with Author Pearl Cleage, abcnews.go.com.

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Pearl Cleage

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Born: December 7, 1948
Occupation: Author
Cite this Page: Citation

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