That said, I've never thought the fact that I'm a woman was important to my work.

Kindness to me is only powerful if it has the cruel streak behind it. If someone is kind all the time under all circumstances, they're just simple-minded. Kindness is only worth something if you have the cruel streak to back it up.

I fingerpick a lot because I can get more of a range of feeling from the guitar than I can when I bash away with a pick.

Writing is always personal in some way but not always in a direct way.

A lot of my writing is not terribly civilized. Sometimes I listen to songs by very smart writers who assume that the world is a civil place with certain formalities that people follow, but I don't see things that way. My own experience tells me that life is not like that. That's why I write the way I do.

If you have to fight a crowd of boys, it's best to go for the biggest one. That way you won't have to fight them all. The others will see that you mean business and you will win their respect.

I dont think gender is aesthetically defining for me.