Quotes About Influence

politics and religion in the United States work like the twin grips of a pair of pliers on a critical mass of the masses.

I am not retiring until every American agrees with me, and there's some work still to be done on this.

I'm interested in reaching the masses with my work. It's one of my goals.

I am especially indebted to a 10th grade English teacher who encouraged me to read great works of literature.

All too often, when creative people pick out someone else's creative work as an inspiration, what they end up with is very, very far from the original.

I was reading Carl Sandburg and Gwendolyn Brooks, and I'm still very, very deeply moved by Gwendolyn Brooks's life and her work.

The ability to be present with every single person and engage was a great model for me of the work that a writer needs to do. Writers, living or dead, still guide me in many ways.

You can't create a work without being aware that it will change dependent upon the context or the society where it is developed or consumed.

I suppose if I was to have to pick a few, Ursula LeGuin would have to top the list. It was while reading her work that I decided I wanted to be an author.

My criticism hasn't necessarily been informed by the critics I've read. The conversations I've had with friends and fellow musicians have shaped my thinking more than the work of any critic.

I've always been inspired by a lot of work coming out of the UK

While someone can attempt to shame you, shame must also be accepted to be effective. We can't make you feel shame without your participation.

If you can influence the outcome, do the work. If you can't influence the outcome, ignore the possibility. It's merely a distraction.

The people that are doing work that matters aren't doing work thats popular. They're just doing work that changes some people.

I think art is the ability to change people with your work, to see things as they are and then create stories, images, and interactions that change the marketplace.

Before you promise to change the world, it makes sense to do the hard work of changing your neighborhood.

You can't control other people, and giving them the power to decide if you will continue to produce good work is foolish.

New ideas need audiences like flowers need bees. No matter how bright and colorful, they will die unless others work to spread them

I enjoyed reading Batman, and Superman, and all the super ones, but I never wished I created them. I've got to let there be some work for other people!

I wanted my work to be seen for free in a public space, I want to be up there with Pollock and de Kooning, one of the big boys.

Only two things happen to writers when they die: Either their work survives, or it becomes forgotten.

I don't think it's a secret that New York tastemakers don't love my work.

You kill me and I'll see that you never work in this town again.

President Obama is an extraordinary person to work with and for.