I would say I'd rather dig a ditch, you know, do hard, manual labor than write lyrics.

I'm on this search trying to figure out exactly who I am and what I have to say to people.

I can't remove the autobiographical slant from the things I write. You always bring yourself into what you're writing.

I've raised my daughter with no television.

I was shy. Bookish. The kind of 13-year-old girl who, instead of having a boyfriend, would have a crush on a dead, 19th-century author!

Have I been wrong? Have I been wise to shut my eyes?

I don't want to live in a culture of despair. I'd like to live in a culture of hope.