Quotes by Masha Hamilton

Have you heard, he said that many of our people believe if you know five colloquial expressions in their tribal language, they must always provide you with nourishment and shelter? But- He paused as though to make sure she was paying attention. But if you know fewer than five, they owe you not even a sip of water.She nodded, understanding his point, but he pressed it.Learn those five phrases, Miss Sweeney, he said.

Besides, Fi was convinced that instinct could determine a bodys literary needs, just as physical cravings pointed to dietary shortfalls. Shed experienced it herself more than once among the librarys dense shelves; not knowing what she should read next, shed wandered, sniffing slightly, palms open. When intuition hit, she felt a sensation she couldnt describe exactly: her hands seemed to know where to go. And when she reached, invariably she found exactly the book she needed at that moment - sometimes fiction, sometimes biography, sometimes a slim volume of obscure poetry

The stories shed read of others lives over these last few months had left her with a greater appreciation for the thread of her own life.

I think I was always interested in the larger world, even as a kid, and my experiences as a journalist only heightened that interest. Covering conflict, I learned that though leaders often try to create a sense of us and them, the differences are not that delineated. I often felt like it was a whole bunch of us, with some of them scattered around. That made me feel that the borders we draw around ourselves are often artificial.