Looking for some inspiration in your day? Here are quotes from six authors to remind you of hope and perseverance in trying times.
Zora Neale Hurston, Library of Congress
Inspiring quotes from Louisa May Alcott
“I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship.” ― Little Women
“I ask not for any crown
But that which all may win;
Nor try to conquer any world
Except the one within.”
― “The Complete Poetry by Louisa May Alcott”
“Keep good company, read good books, love good things and cultivate soul and body as faithfully as you can.” ― “Rose in Bloom”
Inspiring quotes from Maya Angelou
“The desire to reach the stars is ambitious. The desire to reach hearts is wise and most possible.” ― Maya Angelou, posted to Twitter
“I love to see a young girl go out and grab the world by the lapels. Life’s a bitch. You’ve got to go out and kick ass.” ― Maya Angelou, Interview in Girl About Town, 13 October 1986, printed in “Conversations with Maya Angelou”
“We may encounter many defeats but we must not be defeated.” ― Maya Angelou, Interview with Psychology Today
Explore Dr. Maya Angelou’s life through her books here.
Inspiring quotes from Willa Cather
“The fact that I was a girl never damaged my ambitions to be a pope or an emperor. ” ―
“Some things are best learned in calm, others in storm.” ―
“Miracles surround us at every turn, if we but sharpen our perceptions to them.” ―
Inspiring quotes from Lorraine Hansberry
“For above all, in behalf of an ailing world which sorely needs our defiance, may we, as Negroes or women, never accept the notion of – ‘our place.'” ― Lorraine Hansberry, “This Complex of Womanhood,” Ebony Magazine
“Never be afraid to sit a while and think.” ― Lorraine Hansberry, “A Raisin in the Sun”
“This is one of the glories of man, the inventiveness of the human mind and the human spirit: whenever life doesn’t seem to give an answer, we create one.” ― Lorraine Hansberry
Read more Lorraine Hansberry quotes here.
Inspiring quotes from Zora Neale Hurston
“Such as I am, I am a precious gift.” ―
“I love myself when I am laughing. . . and then again when I am looking mean and impressive.” ―
“I do not weep at the world—I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.” ―
Inspiring quotes from Toni Morrison
“If you wanna fly, you got to give up the shit that weighs you down.” ― Toni Morrison, “Song of Solomon”
“If you find a book you really want to read but it hasn’t been written yet, then you must write it.” ― Toni Morrison, 1981 speech to the Ohio Arts Council
“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” ― Toni Morrison, “Beloved”
Read more Toni Morrison quotes here.
