It is something I recognise in myself. I do eavesdrop. I do people-watch, a lot.

I always put myself out there. I'm not afraid to commit to something.

It takes a lot of energy and creativity to make such screwed up lives carry on. And the kind of will people have to survive, year after year, dealing with that stuff, is weirdly impressive.

If nobody speaks of remarkable things, how can they be called remarkable?

I once saw a picture in the paper of John Hegley with 'poet' written on his knuckles, and I thought that was pretty cool, so I was quite up front about it.

Now that I've had a book published, it is quite validating, but a bit embarrassing.