I think everything has some politics to it. It's just whether or not it admits to it. Politics is weird. I don't even know what that means any more.

Poets are political, they have to be reflections of their times [because] they're living in their times... Poetry is political in that it's standing in opposition to fascism. Good poetry asks a bunch of questions and asks the audience to interact with themselves or see themselves in it; maybe you like it or you don't like it. But the fascist sort of stuff plays on your fears and tells you to jump on the party line and gives some simple excuses - blame this person.

I feel like I'm a filmmaker; I don't feel I need to yell 'action' and 'cut.'

The minute you realize that your options are unlimited, things just start falling into place all around you.

Well, acting itself is a form of rebellion, always. Getting up there in front of people, telling stories - you're kind of going against the grain to begin with, wanting to do that, don't you think? Why else would you do it? Except maybe as kind of a way to affirm your very existence.

There's also some element of coming of age during the Reagan administration, which everybody has painted as some glorious time in America, but I remember as being a very, very dark time. There was apocalypse in the air; the punk rock movement made sense.

Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable or am I miserable because listen to pop music?