A writer, or any artist, can't expect to be embraced by the people,
you know I've done records where it seemed like no one listened to them,
you write poetry books that maybe you know, 50 people read,
and you just keep doing you work, because you have to, because it's your calling,
but it's beautiful to be embraced by the people.

Some people have said to me : "Don't you think that kind of success spoils one as an artist,
you know if you're a punk rocker, you don't wanna have a hit record",
and I said "No, fuck you".

You know it's just like one does their work for the people,
and the more people you can touch, the more wonderful it is.
You don't do your work and say : "I only want the cool people to read it."

You know, you want everyone to be transported, or hopefully, inspired by it.
When I was really young, William Burroughs told me, and I was really struggling,
we never had any money,
and the advice that William gave me was : " 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, and make the right choices,
and protect your work, and if you build a good name, eventually,
that name will be its own currency."

And I remember when he told me that and I said :
" Yeah but, William, my name is Smith you know."
Just joking, but, to be an artist, actually to be a human being in this times,
it's odd difficult.

You have to go through life, hopefully trying to stay healthy, being as happy as you can,
and pursuing, you know, doing what you want.

If what you want is to have children, if what you want is to be a baker,
if what you want is to live out in the woods, or try to save the environment,
or maybe what you want is to write scripts for detective shows.

It doesn't really matter, you know, what matters is to know what you want,
and pursue it, and understand that it's gonna be hard, because life is really difficult.
You're gonna lose people you love, you're gonna suffer heartbreak,
sometimes you'll be sick, sometimes you'll have really bad tooth ache,
sometimes you'll be hungry,
but on the other hand, you'll have the most beautiful experiences,
sometimes just the sky, sometimes a piece of work that you do that feel so wonderful,
or you find somebody to love, or your children...

There are beautiful things in life, so, when you're suffering, just, you know,
it's part of the package.
You know, you look at it : we're born, and we also have to die.
We know that.

So it makes sense that we're gonna be really happy, and things are gonna be really fucked up too.
Just ride with it. It's like a roller coaster ride.

It's never gonna be perfect, it's gonna have perfect moments, and then rough spots,
but it's all worth it, believe me, I think it is.

You know, I'm sure that each generation could say that their time was the best and the worst of times.
But I think that right now, we are at something different that I've never seen.
It's a pioneering time, because there is no other time in history like right now.
And that's what makes it unique.

It's not unique because we have like Renaissance style artists,
It's unique because the people... it is the time of the people.
Because technology has really democratized self-expression.
Instead of a handful of people making their own records or writing their own songs,
everybody can write them.

Everyone can post a poem on the Internet, and have people read it,
everyone has access, and access that they've never had before,
there are possibilities for global striking, for bringing down these corporations and governments
who think they rule the world, because we can unite as one people through technology.
We're all still figuring it out, and what power we actually have,
but the people still do have the power, more than ever,
and I think right now, we're going through this painful sort of like adolescence.

Again, what do we do with this technology, what do we do with our world,
who are we ?
But, it also makes it exciting.

You know, all the young people right now, the new generations, they are pioneers in a new time.

So, just, I say : stay strong, try to have fun but stay clean, stay healthy,
because you know, you have a lot of challenges ahead, and, be happy.
(Big Applause)