Lucille Clifton's pride in being black and in being a woman helps her transform difficult circumstances into a qualified affirmation about the black urban world she portrays. She perceives in her own African heritage models for courage and endurance that...

Thelma Lucille Sayles Clifton was born in Depew, New York, on 27 June 1936 and was educated at Fredonia State Teachers College, Fredonia, New York, and at Howard University, Washington, D.C. She began composing poems and writing stories at an early age a...

Once a chic pursuit for wealthy youth and adventurous others, by the 1990s rock climbing had come to embody a path toward greater self-fulfillment for the average person. Embraced by corporations and schools, rock climbing and the rope skills...

Climbing is the activity of using one's hands or feet to ascend a steep object. It is done both for recreation (to reach an inaccessible place, or for its own enjoyment) and professionally, as part of activities such as maintenance of a structure, or...

Gold prices rose Thursday as the U.S. dollar fell in response to the government's weaker than expected first-quarter gross domestic product report.Elsewhere in the commodities markets, industrial metals and agriculture prices climbed while energy prices retreated.The gold market reacted to a falling dollar, which lost...

PepsiCo Inc., the snack and beverage maker, said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit climbed 61 percent led by strong performances from its international and Frito-Lay divisions.Profit for the three months ended Dec. 30 grew to $1.78 billion, or $1.06 per share, from $1.1 billion, or...

Gold prices rose Thursday as the U.S. dollar fell in response to the government's weaker-than-expected reading on first-quarter gross domestic product.Elsewhere in the commodities markets, industrial metals and agriculture prices climbed while gasoline prices fell.The gold market reacted to a falling dollar, which lost ground...

Venture capital investments in U.S. startups climbed to a six-year high of $29.4 billion in 2007, raising hope that ample money will still be available to back promising new ideas even if the staggering economy falls into a recession.The amount of venture capital spread across...