Patti Smith

“I think everything is possible. And I think that is a revolutionary thing to think.”

“Build a good name. Keep your name clean. Don't make compromises, don't worry about making a bunch of money or being successful — be concerned with doing good work.”

“Make your interactions with people transformational, not transactional.”

“Never let go of that fiery sadness called desire.”

“A writer, or any artist, can’t expect to be embraced by the people. I don’t expect to be embraced. I’m just glad I get to do it.”

“Rock and roll is a conscience. It's a vehicle for social change.”

“Life is an adventure of our own design, intersected by fate and a series of choices.”

“I'm an artist and I need to be free to explore all the corners of my heart. There are no boundaries.”

“Art is the highest form of hope.”

“To be an artist is to believe in life.”

“My mission is to communicate, to wake people up, to give them my energy and accept theirs. We're all in it together.”

“Please, no matter how we advance technologically, please don't abandon the book. There is nothing in our material world more beautiful than the book.”

“I'm just a person. I'm not a rock star. I'm a worker.”

“New generations will come. And they will have their own heroes and their own moments of bliss.”

“An artist is somebody who enters into competition with God.”

“I am going to get a cup of coffee and a piece of bread and read the book of my life.”

“What is it that we're all looking for? A way back home.”

“I understood that in this small space of time we had been given something. We had been given a gift, we had been given a road.”

“When I'm writing, I'm waiting for the word. When I'm performing, I'm waiting for the note.”

“We go through life. We shed our skins. We become ourselves.”