«You should make a point of trying every experience once, excepting incest and folk dancing.»

«Yes, I heard my people singing!--in the glow of parlor coal-stove and on summer porches sweet with lilac air, from choir loft and Sunday morning pews--and my soul was filled with their harmonies. Then, too, I heard these songs in the very sermons of my father, for in the Negro's speech there is much of the phrasing and rhythms of folk-song. The great, soaring gospels we love are merely sermons that are sung; and as we thrill to such gifted gospel singers as Mahalia Jackson, we hear the rhythmic eloquence of our preachers, so many of whom, like my father, are masters of poetic speech.»

«Try everything once except folk dancing and incest.»

«We are a plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures.»

«We are a puny and fickle folk. Avarice, hesitation, and following are our diseases.»