Rufus Wainwright Quotes

Mothers are the necessity of invention.

Everyone has early fiction fantasies, but it wasn't until my second child Betsy was born that I allowed the urge to write a novel bubble up.

Desperation is sometimes as powerful an inspirer as genius.

If you can give your child only one gift, let it be enthusiasm.

I can write anywhere. I actually wrote more than I ever did when I had small children. My children were never a hindrance.

I enjoy doing new tunes. It gives me a little bit to perk up, to pay a little bit more attention.

Life obliges me to do something, so I paint.

I don't think human beings learn anything without desperation. Desperation is a necessary ingredient to learning anything or creating anything. Period. If you ain't desperate at some point, you ain't interesting.

It's lack that gives us inspiration. It's not fullness.

My desire to be an artist really came out of being broke and unemployed and incapable of holding a job down. That's what it was driven by for sure.

What keeps me going is my children.

Fuel your kids' dreams. Sometimes, that means letting them stay up past their bedtimes.

Nothing prompts creativity like poverty, a feeling of hopelessness, and a bit of panic.

I love being a mother. I think it's the best thing I've ever done, and I personally feel that it's had a very positive effect on my work. I think it's an encouraging force for creativity, it feeds creativity - it did for me, certainly.

We don't teach our children how to dream.

I dance because I have to, because I'm so passionate about it.

Without coffee, nothing gets written. Period.

All my children inspire me in life, and that always comes out in the writing.

My last book, 'The Language of Flowers,' I wrote completely on naptime, when my little kids were asleep.

Necessity, n. The mother of invention. Profit is the father.

It really depends on how thirsty I was.

Sometimes people invent things because they want to stay alive or feed their children or conquer the village next door. But just as often, new ideas come into the world simply because they're fun. And here's the really strange thing: many of those playful but seemingly frivolous inventions ended up sparking momentous transformations in science, in politics and society.

When you become a parent, you start loving diapers.

Every 10 years or so, there was a moment when I'd say, even subconsciously, 'Is that all there is?' You've got to find ways to keep it fresh for yourself.

That's what's cool - you don't know what your kids are gonna be drawn to or what's gonna excite them and what's gonna motivate them. So it's cool to see their personalities develop and see the things that they lean toward.