"We simply have not kept in touch with poetry."

"That's one of the great things about poetry one realises that one does one's little turn - that you're just part of the great crop, as it were."

"For whatever reason, people, including very well-educated people or people otherwise interested in reading, do not read poetry."

"The other side of it is that, despite all that, people reach out to poetry at the key moments in their lives."

"The office of poetry is not to make us think accurately, but feel truly."

"In Art, man reveals himself and not his objects."

"Your talent is your art. It is not to be taken for granted."

"What influenced me was Tori Amos, who was unapologetic about expressing anger through music, and Sinead O'Connor. Those two in particular were really moving for me, and very inspiring, before I wrote 'Jagged Little Pill.'"