Committing great work does not necessarily feed you.

I learned from him that often contradiction is the clearest way to truth

We all make choices. Believe me, I would like to write the hit of the world. It's not like I have any desire to be in the shadows. My vision isn't marketing. Some people want to sell 6 million albums. There's nothing wrong with that. It's just not what I do. I'd rather look at a piece of work and say it's great rather than it's successful.

I like energy. I like to feel it cracklin', I like sexual energy in a room, and I like tension.

No, my work does not reflect my sexual preferences, it reflects the fact that I feel total freedom as an artist.

Why do people want to know exactly who I am? Am I a poet? Am I this or that? I've always made people wary. First they called me a rock poet. Then I was a poet that dabbled in rock. Then I was a rock person who dabbled in art.

I could have a job as a teacher because I like talking in front of people.