Patti Smith

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.

What I really like is an intelligent review. It doesn't have to be positive. A review that has some kind of insight, and sometimes people say something that's startling or is so poignant.

What I wanted to do in rock 'n roll was merge poetry with sonic scapes, and the two people who had contributed so much to that were Jimi Hendrix and Jim Morrison.

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

When I was younger, I felt it was my duty to wake people up. I thought poetry was asleep. I thought rock 'n' roll was asleep.

My mom loved rock 'n roll. My father hated it. We couldn't play it when he was around.

Good news doesn't necessarily have to be a positive thing. Bringing good news is imparting hope to one's fellow man.

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

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

To me, punk rock is the freedom to create, freedom to be successful, freedom to not be successful, freedom to be who you are. It's freedom.

From very early on in my childhood - four, five years old - I felt alien to the human race. I felt very comfortable with thinking I was from another planet, because I felt disconnected - I was very tall and skinny, and I didn't look like anybody else, I didn't even look like any member of my family.

The new artists coming through were very materialistic and Hollywood, not so engaged in communication.

I've always looked the same. Since I was a child, I hated having to deal with my hair. I hated having to change my clothes. As a kid, I had a sailor shirt and the same old corduroy pants, and that's what I wanted to wear everyday.

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.

I'm not saying I wasn't flawed or amateurish. But you can never say I did anything to appease the music business.

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