My dad had a commercial film company, so he had a videotape player before anyone. So he got Mel Brooks movies or Citizen Kane or some classic old movies. And every summer the revival house in Evanston would show the great films from the '50s and '60s and '70s.

I think that taking night trains or meeting someone on the road is pretty romantic. I've done a couple of things like that. I've surprised someone in Paris. And hopefully, when you surprise someone, they're happy to see you.

Texas women have an amazing sense of purpose when they lose it. They're the best girls in the world - they're loyal and fun, but when they get mad, they'll try to kill you.

Do I listen to pop music because I'm miserable or am I miserable because listen to pop music?

Sometimes you meet people and you feel like you've known them for a long time.

Doris Day was the perfect woman.

I had a million jobs before I managed to make a living out of poetry.

I love singing. I'm a great singer.

I don't work with anybody I don't like, just for the attention.

It's miserable wearing black all the time, unless you're Johnny Cash.

I would describe my style of dress as careful.

I wish I could drive.

Everybody that read one of my poems went off and wrote poetry. They said that about the Velvets, didn't they? They didn't sell many records, but everybody that saw them formed a band.

I'm not one of nature's campers. I'm not even a glamper.

I quite like cooking, but not to the extent that I look on a kitchen as a domain.

The one thing I got right was that I already looked like a punk when punk arrived.

I've been kept from honest employment for a long, long time now. Thank God!

Most cities are the same.

Dutch food is terrible, I think. What sort of person starts the day with egg and cheese?

I'm not much of a team player when it comes to making records, I've got to say.

I was pushing for a career in poetry and of course the received wisdom was that you would never make a living at it.

You can always find something better to do than writing when you're at home.

I've always lived all over the place, and left Manchester the minute I was old enough to steal a car.

To approach a poem as if it is a puzzle to be understood is to miss the point.