We have LONG POSSESSED the ART of war and the science of war, which have been evolved in the minutest DETAIL.

My father was possessed of an extraordinary ROMANTIC idealism, an unwavering belief in certain principles. He was always TALKING about the PAST. Always. Of course, it has a POWERFUL EFFECT on me.

I was POSSESSED by LONDON.

I had worked on the markets with my FATHER before going to university, so I possessed an apparent street-smartness, had access to a colourful costermonger vocabulary, and tried passing myself off as a bit of spiv. But my CONTEMPORARIES SAW through me. At HEART, they knew I was as bookish and oversensitive as they were.

Their humble dwellings were of their own rearing; it was they themselves who had BROKEN in their LITTLE fields; from time immemorial, far beyond the REACH of history, had they possessed their MOUNTAIN holdings.

Most POETS, LIKE most people, try hard to be like SOMEONE they ADMIRE or they are possessed with an image of what they OUGHT to be.

My mother had two unshakable beliefs that she tried to drill into me. The first was that I had to STUDY and work twice as hard as my white peers if I WANTED to SURVIVE in AMERICA, and the SECOND was that it was delusional and dangerous to believe I possessed the same freedom white people had to pursue my dreams.

A preoccupation with money and, especially, with what money meant was, in our family, an inherited thing. My FATHER's father, Jack, who DIED before I was BORN, was very MUCH possessed by the idea that money was FREEDOM.

To me, the appeal of opera lies in the fact that a myriad of SINGERS and instruments, each possessed of DIFFERENT qualities of voice and sound, against the backdrop of a grand stage and beautiful costumes, COME TOGETHER in one COMPLETE and impressive drama.

I remember my parents taking me to see 'The Exorcist' in theaters when I was really young. They're CUBAN and didn't really SPEAK ENGLISH, so I don't think they got that it was a movie about a GIRL possessed by the devil.

When I MAKE a GOOD BEAT, I'm POSSESSED. I'm not on EARTH!

The TENACIOUS character I've possessed SINCE I was a small child propelled me to successfully MEET this challenge, and I was able to safely gain acceptance to the university of my choice.

I embraced everything that I THOUGHT would hold me back from pursuing my dreams and USED my INSECURITIES to give me the courage to inspire and advocate for others who POSSESSED many of the same insecurities I had.

I'd LIKE to LEARN how to COOK. I've hauled around this big, old, HEAVY Martha Stewart cookbook in my suitcase to Cape Cod, L.A., Paris. I don't KNOW what possessed me.

I'm terrified of having to go back to a DAY job. And that's why I'm training LIKE a MAN POSSESSED. Because I want to keep WINNING.