“Basic human contact - the meeting of eyes, the exchanging of words - i...” — Martha Beck Quote

“Basic human contact - the meeting of eyes, the exchanging of words - is to the psyche what oxygen is to the brain. If you're feeling abandoned by the world, interact with anyone you can.”

“I cannot count the times I've been defeated, humiliated, or physically injured immediately after saying the words, 'Hey, how hard can it be?' But that never seems to stop me from saying them again.”

“Although beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, the feeling of being beautiful exists solely in the mind of the beheld.”

“I never abandoned either forms or freedom. I imagine that most of what could be called free verse is in my first book. I got through that fairly early.”

“My computer is littered with abandoned projects.”

“To those supporters who were told that I abandoned them, that is untrue. I abandoned greed, corruption, and compromise, never you, and never the artistic gifts and abilities that sustained me.”