Quotes By Patti Smith

Americans just don't know what being a movie star's all about.

In the period where I had to live the life of a citizen - a life where, like everybody else, I did tons of laundry and cleaned toilet bowls, changed hundreds of diapers and nursed children - I learned a lot.

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

Horses pretty much broke as a record in England.

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.

A lot of my audience are in their 50s. But they want me to pretend to continue to be pretending.

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.

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.

What I say should always be prefaced with this: I'm not really politically articulate. I just try to be like Thomas Paine: what is common sense? So when I say these things to you, I am speaking from a humanist point of view. I just look around and see what's wrong.

Christianity made us think there's one heaven.

In fact, I thought my calling was to be a painter.

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.

I never felt oppressed because of my gender. When I'm writing a poem or drawing, I'm not a female; I'm an artist.

An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God.

First of all, anybody who has lasted 30 and went through the 60's is really a survivor.

I always enjoyed doing transgender songs.

I am not really certain how original my contribution to music is as I am obviously an amateur.

We tried not to age, but time had its rage.

Maybe I'll be 48 and die in the gutter in Paris.

I think I'm constantly in a state of adjustment.

I dreamed of having a book of my own, of writing one that I could put on a shelf.

All I've ever wanted, since I was a child, was to do something wonderful.

I don't think the area of Jerusalem should be part of a Jewish state; it belongs to all people, to Christians and Muslims and the Jewish people.

Never let go of that fiery sadness called desire.

My father's mother was from Liverpool and she had this very beautiful English china. I only wanted to drink my cocoa out of my grandmother's cup and saucer.

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.

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

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

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.

I wrote every day. I don't think I could have written 'Just Kids' had I not spent all of the 80s developing my craft as a writer.