“Question, What artists do you most admire?”

“Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'What are you doing for others?”

“People sometimes inquire what form of government is most suitable for an artist to live under. To this question there is only one answer. The form of government that is most suitable to the artist is no government at all. Authority over him and his art is ridiculous.”

“It is inherent to the human condition to admire precisely what you do not understand.”

“Better to work for yourself alone. You do as you like and follow your own ideas, you admire yourself and please yourself: isn’t that the main thing? And then the public is so stupid. Besides, who reads? And what do they read? And what do they admire?”

“The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful. What the beautiful is is another question.”

“The most valiant thing you can do as an artist is inspire someone else to be creative.”

“The only question with wealth is, what do you do with it?”

“If there's something you really want to believe, that's what you should question the most.”

“I am a performing artist; I perform admiration.
Come with me, I want my poems to say. And do the same.”