[My parents] are my favourite people. They were so admirable in the sense of what they chose to do, as opposed to what they could have done. They were very educated, they could have taken jobs and settled down, but they followed their hearts. They did what they loved. Writing together. Running the museum. Activism. I really revere them. Also, they are archivists, and I definitely inherited that gene.

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There is an assumption when you’re young that things don’t mean as much or aren’t as painful. But first love is the most devastating of all. Society will always look down on teenagers – parents and teachers don’t seem to pay enough attention to kids when they are at their most painful age. Most of the great writers were outcasts, especially the beats. That’s why Lawrence Ferlinghetti is such a hero, because he was the first person to get those artists published.