As an artist, I used to think that my responsibility was to do good work. But I had to learn from the 70s on that being a public figure presents another aspect of responsibility.
Put down your cell phones, put everything away, and feel your blood pulsing in you, feel your creative impulse, feel your own spirit, your heart, your mind. Feel the joy of being alive and free.
People say the media is feeding the public’s hunger for celebrity news, but that’s the drug pusher’s mentality. I don’t think anybody would be pining for news about Angelina Jolie’s babies if it weren’t being given to them in the first place.
I’m an artist. I’m interested in how art gets made.
I’m pretty moral about what I do. If I didn’t think I was worthy of doing something, I wouldn’t do it. I ain’t gonna waste a bunch of people’s time.
I always wrote like rock ‘n’ roll. And I always listen to rock ‘n’ roll as poetry.
I’ve never felt grounded because of my ancestry or my gender. I think until women get away from that they’re not going to be great writers.
I had this idea that the coolest thing that could happen to you was talking with God.
I realize that people need something to believe in.
I was so used to doing art that my fingers were like albino spiders. So it was just natural for me to go to a typewriter and write poetry.
I’m from South Jersey: The idea of eating a roll with olive oil and anchovies or some kind of sardine and drinking mint tea definitely comes from reading Paul Bowles.
By the time I was 10 or 11, I was completely demoralized. I thought, “I’m done. I’m never going to be a missionary,” because my indiscretion column, whether it was little lies or stealing a Chunky bar, kept me from sainthood.
I was quite an insomniac. I rarely slept as a child. Having God to talk to at night was nice.
I didn’t write about aspects of my public life because that’s a small part of my life.
I’ve always considered myself a writer.
I was so horny in school it felt like my body was filled with electricity. I felt like I had neon bones or something.
I’d try to write my poems in a certain rhythm. I had my rock ‘n’ roll stuff for performing and my denser stuff for writing.
All the traumas I went through separating art from writing don’t exist anymore. That’s why I love being in rock ‘n’ roll. It’s a whole life thing.
You’re not a rock ‘n’ roll person four hours a day or even when you’re on stage. It’s become the rhythm of your whole life.
When I was a kid, I loved Sherlock Holmes. I’m not interested in crimes. I’m interested in the mind of the detective and his process, which to me is a lot like the artist.
I just know that young people suffer, and I also know music is one of the things that help you get through – music and friends.