"Books are the carriers of civilization. Without books, history is silent, literature dumb, science crippled, thought and speculation at a standstill. I think that there is nothing, not even crime, more opposed to poetry, to philosophy, ay, to life itself than this incessant business."

Henry David Thoureau (12 July 1817 - 6 May 1862), American author and philosopher.

"To sing a song is quite different than to write a poem. I'm not and never will be a novelist, but to write a novel is not the same thing as writing a play. There is a difference in form, but essentially what you're after is the same thing."

Sam Shepard (5 November 1943 - 27 July 2017), American actor, writer, playwright, director, winner of three Pulitzer Prices in theater. I shall always remember your brilliant play/musical The Tooth of Crime at La Mama Theatre starring Ray Wise. Or the Quaid Brothers in True West at the Cherry Lane Theater. I'd forgotten that you and Bob Dylan wrote the epic "Brownsville Girl" from Dylan's Knocked Out Loaded. You were a guy's guy; a dude well before The Big Lebowski. RIP, Sam.

“Money isn't real, fame isn't real. The only thing that's real is hearing a song in your head and making it come to life.”

Kamasi Washington (born February 18, 1981), American jazz saxophonist, composer, producer, and bandleader.

"Don't let your hands dictate what you think you can do. Look at fingerboard charts and imagine your eyes dancing on the notes you want to play, and forget about whether your hands can do it or not. Just try it."

Allan Holdsworth (6 August 1946 – 15 April 2017), British guitarist and composer. He released twelve studio albums as a solo artist and played a variety of musical styles spanning a period of more than four decades, but is best known for his work in prog rock and jazz fusion. He was in the super group U.K. with Bill Bruford, Eddie Jobson and John Wetton as well as Soft Machine, Pierre Moerlen's Gong, and The New Tony Williams Lifetime. An amazingly talented guitarist, his contributions to music will be missed. RIP, Mr. Holdsworth.

"Political correctness? In my humor, I never talk about politics. I was never much into all that."

Don Rickles (8 May 8 1926 - 6 April 2017) - American actor, comedian and master roast master. RIP, Don, you were one funny man.

"I don't think art is propaganda; it should be something that liberates the soul, provokes the imagination and encourages people to go further. It celebrates humanity instead of manipulating it."

Keith Haring (4 May 1958 - 16 February 1990), American artist and social activist whose work responded to the New York City street culture of the 1980s by expressing concepts of birth, death, sexuality, and war.

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

Mark Twain (30 November 1835 - 21 April 1910), American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher and lecturer.

"Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die."

Carrie Frances Fisher (21 October 1956 - 27 December 2016), American actress, writer, producer, and humorist. She was the daughter of singer Eddie Fisher and actress Debbie Reynolds. Fisher was best known for playing Princess Leia in the Star Wars film series. RIP, Miss Fisher, and may the force with you!

"As I hurtled through space, one thought kept crossing my mind -- every part of the rocket was supplied by the lowest bidder." 

John Glenn (18 July 1921 - 8 December 2016), American aviator, engineer, astronaut, and US Senator from Ohio. In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling three times. RIP, Mr. Astronaut.

"The time is always right to do what is right."

Marin Luther King, Jr. (15 January 1929 - 4 April 1968), American Baptist minister and activist who was a leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.

"Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash."

Leonard Cohen (21 September 1934 - 7 November 2016), Canadian singer-songwriter, musician, poet, novelist, and artist. RIP, Mr. Cohen. We shall miss your artistry.

"It's a wonderful feeling to be a bridge to the past and to unite generations. The sport of baseball does that, and I am just a part of it."

Vincent Edward "Vin" Scully (born 29 November 1927) - American sports broadcaster and Brooklyn/LA Dodgers MLB play-by-play baseball announcer for 67 years!

"I am intrigued with scriptural mythology that tells us that God created a divine feminine presence to dwell amongst humanity. This concept has had a constant influence on the work. I have imagined her as ubiquitous, watchful, and often in motion. This work is, in effect, the photographic image of the invisible.”

Leonard Nimoy (26 March 1931 - 27 February 2015), American actor best known as Spock on the hit TV & movie series Star Trek.