KATHY ACKER

I think it's really important to find out why people hurt you or try to oppose you or whatever.

I think what we have in this country is a little more dangerous in a way because it can't be seen fully. It's sorta internal censorship. We censor each other.

There's a backlash against womyn that's really bad right now.

First of all, writing at best - certainly fiction writing - more and more I think is magic.

The literary culture, if you examine it, the high literary culture is that which preserves the government and you know it's really the talk for those who have.

I'm very staid compared to my students, actually.

You know I've had work banned.

I might be writing what people expect me to write, writing from that place where I might be ruled by economic considerations. To overcome that, I started working with my dreams, because I'm not so censored when I use dream material.

I mean, they censor your work when they're scared of it.

Traveling around I don't think people are that horrible, I think they just don't know.

We've been very bad at understanding why the right-wing does things.

I understand that postmodern literature probably means people like DeLillo, The Fiction Collective, but I don't get it that those writers are really influenced by postmodern theorists.

On the surface we all act like we all love each other and we're free and easy, and actually we're far more moralistic than any other society I've ever lived in.

I mean, once work's out there it's meant to be used.

Some of the stuff about Yogi energy is really fascinating.

I question: do we really understand the differences between modernist and postmodernist?

I found my voice was a reaction to all that voice stuff.

But I still don't have a clear idea of what my voice is.

And internalization is used in this country as a very effective political tool.

That's what the right-wing is good at: figuring out the left wing.

But guys such as Allen and William are more supportive than most men.

Yeah, I mean, I put work out there for people to use and I'm grateful when you use it.

We get on the bandwagon in all sorts of ways - you know minor ways and major ways - like what you've just encountered which isn't censorship exactly, it was something sort of uglier in a way.

I think the best thing in cases of censorship or things like this is to get as much media as possible.

I understand that when people read my books that there's something there - but I don't identify with it.