I should think that many of our poets, the honest ones, will confess to having no manifesto. It is a painful confession but the art of poetry carries its own powers without having to break them down into critical listings. I do not mean that poetry should be raffish and irresponsible clown tossing off words into the void. But the very feeling of a good poem carries its own reason for being... Art is its own excuse, and it’s either Art or it’s something else. It’s either a poem or a piece of cheese.

I had no interests. I had no interest in anything. I had no idea how I was going to escape. At least the others had some taste for life. They seemed to understand something that I didn’t understand. Maybe I was lacking. It was possible. I often felt inferior. I just wanted to get away from them. But there was no place to go. Suicide? Jesus Christ, just more work. I felt like sleeping for five years but they wouldn’t let me.

Wherever the crowd goes run in the other direction. They're always wrong.

Food is good for the nerves and the spirit. Courage comes from the belly – all else is desperation.

When Ginsburg is at the top of his game you might as well put down your toys and listen.

The crazy ones only laugh when there is no reason to laugh.

Intellectuals say simple things in difficult ways. Artists say difficult things in simple ways.