I wanted to be an inventor, whatever I thought that meant then. I guess I was thinking of Edison or maybe James Watt. Or maybe even Newton.

I'm aware of my audience in a way, and I do try to engage with them while I'm trying to go about my business of thinking. I believe they help me by providing a focus.

While I don't script and I don't use other performers, I think my taste for underlying precision gives me something in common with Allan and George Brecht.

The Sophists' paradoxical talk pieces and their public debates were entertainment in 5th century Greece. And in that world, Socrates was an entertainer.

I'm standing up thinking. Anybody who wants to listen is welcome. If not, I'm happy to see them go.

From this entertainment industry, may the gods of language protect us.

I didn't think about whether I was writing poems. I was thinking. And the more I was thinking, the more there was I didn't understand.