quotes from classic

People called me the godmother of punk, but I never name myself anything.

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I came into music because I thought the presentation of poetry wasn't vibrant enough. So I merged improvised poetry with basic rock chords.

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I've written a lot of prose. I just haven't published it.

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In art and dream may you proceed with abandon. In life may you proceed with balance and stealth.

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If I'm taking a picture of Brancusi's grave, I know that there's something of him, of his mortal remains, beneath my feet, and there's something beautiful about that.

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When I was young, I knew William Burroughs really well. And William's secret desire, which he never quite did, was to write a straightforward detective novel.

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If I have any regrets, I could say that I'm sorry I wasn't a better writer or a better singer.

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Some of us are born rebellious. Like Jean Genet or Arthur Rimbaud, I roam these mean streets like a villain, a vagabond, an outcast, scavenging for the scraps that may perchance plummet off humanity's dirty plates, though often sometimes taking a cab to a restaurant is more convenient.

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I had to learn, really, how to rein in my energies and discipline myself. And I found it very very useful. I rebelled against it at first, but it's a good thing to have.

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I didn't know Kurt Cobain or Amy Winehouse, but I was affected by both of their deaths because I admired their work so much and mourned their youth and work they would never produce.

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Polaroid by its nature makes you frugal. You walk around with maybe two packs of film in your pocket. You have 20 shots, so each shot is a world.

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If I feel any marginalisation, it's because the things that concern me aren't so important to other people.

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I don't think the Palestinian people or Afghan children or some other things I'm concerned about are at the top of other people's agendas - not right now, when America is going through such a recession and people are suffering across the board financially. But I think all that will change.

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C'mon, I mean who didn't listen to 'The Who' in the 60s?

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Everyone has a creative impulse, and has the right to create, and should.

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The idea of redemption is always good news, even if it means sacrifice or some difficult times.

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I like gettin' old.

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Then I read Little Women, and of course, like a lot of really young girls, I was very taken with Jo - Jo being the writer and the misfit.

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It was no hardship to me to spend long hours reading and writing.

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The thing I've always liked about performing is that I decide what I want to wear, whether I want to comb my hair.

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