I was an incredibly misanthrope. I couldn't relate to people my age, and I'm not sure why, as I wasn't particularly smart or interesting

I love the way you can fall in love with a piece of literature; how words alone can get your heart doing that.

I don't have much to complain about in life, because I've lived a very privileged existence and continue to. I just think, What if I didn't have that confidence or strength of character, and I was left with certain perceptions of what a woman's place is in the world?

The romanticised life, where all the great poetry and music and art of the world comes from, is great but it requires a lot of self-indulgence.

All my songs come from me because I only seem able to write about myself and my experiences.

My songs are not pretty. They're what I call optimistic realism.

Women are presented with a very narrow aspect of the female narrative. And now we live in a culture and a time where it gets to us very quickly and very young. So how do you maintain in a child that sense of unique identity before they get thrown all that is projected on them?