I know a lie when I hear one.

Most people ignore most poetry because most poetry ignores most people.

Poetry is an extra hand. It can caress or tickle. It can clench and fight.

Stadium rock and commercial rock are the opposite of what poetry needs. An audience of around 200 is ideal for poetry.

When I am sad and wearyWhen I think all hope has goneWhen I walk along High HolbornI think of you with nothing on

I want to speak, to sing to total strangers. It's my way of talking to the world.

There have always been poets who performed. Blake sang his Songs of Innocence and Experience to parties of friends.

I was run over by the truth one day.Ever since the accident I've walked this way

I don't like writing essays or theory.

The man who believes in giraffes would swallow anything.

I would have walked on the waterBut I wasn't fully insured.And the BMA sent a writ my wayWith the very first leper I cured.

It is like a voyage of discovery into unknown lands, seeking not for new territory but for new knowledge. It should appeal to those with a good sense of adventure.

She was so busy forgetting, she couldn't take a single step into the future.

My message is very simple and universal, not very intellectual, but humane. Just love each other and live.

At any given moment, there is a sort of all pervading orthodoxy, a general tacit agreement not to discuss large and uncomfortable facts.

For those looking for security, be forewarned that there's nothing more insecure than a political promise.

Jamming a coin into a monopoly newspaper box or liberating a billboard in the middle of the night can be a rather honest and joyful thing to do.

Laws: We know what they are, and what they are worth! They are spider webs for the rich and mighty, steel chains for the poor and weak, fishing nets in the hands of government.

Whoever, however close to me you may be. Nobody can change my emotions. Even if I am sad it's my own problem, not somebody else's.

My favourite things are just wandering from place to place, going to cafés, taking photographs. My favourite day is a happy accident.

I do not weep at the world I am too busy sharpening my oyster knife.