Quote of the Day (Tracy Chapman, on the Importance of the Public Library Growing Up)

“I grew up across the street from a public library, and it was the only place my mom would let me go on my own. I loved books, but to be able to do anything alone when you’re a kid, you’re going to take that opportunity. It was my second home, and I read everything that I could get.”—American singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman quoted by Lindsay Zoladz, “Tracy Chapman Wants to Speak for Herself,” The New York Times, Apr. 20, 2025

The image accompanying this post, of Tracy Chapman at the 2009 Cactus Festival in Bruges, Belgium, was taken July 10, 2009, by Hans Hillewaert.