"The poet is a pretender. / He pretends so completely, / that he even pretends that it is pain / the pain he really feels."

“The Church of Christ has been founded by shedding its own blood, not that of others; by enduring outrage, not by inflicting it. Persecutions have made it grow; martyrdoms have crowned it.”

“In law a man is guilty when he violates the rights of others. In ethics he is guilty if he only thinks of doing so.”

“Needing approval is like saying 'your view of me is more important than my own opinion of myself'.”

“I do think it imperative that you recover from fear of rejection. Forgive me, but that is the sin of pride, and you must avoid that particular manifestation of the sin if you are to reach the goal . . . you hope for.”

“As a musician, I have always refrained from criticizing another artist.”

Source : "The Rumpus interview with Jill Sobule". Interview with Stephen Elliott, therumpus.net. July 30, 2009.

“Well you've been brought here against your will, just like I have. If you ask me, we're all in the same boat. And it's leaking.”

Source : John Boyne (2012). “The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas”, p.60, Random House

“I don't think it's patriotic to put on a flight suit and prance around on the deck of an aircraft carrier looking for a photo op. We have a president of the United States who did not do his duty to take care of America. If you're patriotic, you do your duty.”

“There's a bootleg album that was recorded when I was 14 or 15, a compilation of things live at different clubs. Songs like Girl from Ipanema and Cry Me A River. I don't know what the title of it is.”