I would say 90 percent of my mail and phone calls are from people who want some kind of help or succor or commitment from me to do something.

Any political agenda and organization which doesn't begin with personal responsibility is just half the argument. It's just not going to succeed.

Everyone knows that our current system is kind of like legalized prostitution. The corporate sector completely controls the civic sector.

It came home to me indelibly that I was never going to change anything in America by walking around carrying a sign. It was a great revelation. It saved me a lot of anxiety and a lot of wasted energy.

You don't see artists sitting around a lot, talking about ideology. They find out what they believe, and what they're doing, by doing it.

Habitat for wildlife is continually shrinking - I can at least provide a way station.

When I got to Grinnell College, I was part of the black turtleneck sweater and Camel cigarette crowd of poets and writers.