Anne Lamott Quotes

Cleanliness is the scourge of art.

Perfectionism means that you try not to leave so much mess to clean up. But clutter and mess show us that life is being lived.

I am very clean, not exactly a neat freak, and creative.

Perfectionism is a mean, frozen form of idealism, while messes are the artist's true friend.

Neatness makes me feel like I have to be on my best behavior. Clutter is my natural habitat.

Records don't have to be perfect. Everyone doesn't have to move left when everyone else moves left. I love hearing the mistakes.

L.A. is kind of flat these days; I guess Austin and other places are like that now. But that's what I wanted to get across: You could be as crazy as you wanted, and that was OK. You didn't have to be good; people would still come and hear you.

I write songs as honestly as I can without worrying about genres or labels. Sometimes I sing, and sometimes I rap, and sometimes I do something in between. I jump around on stage and don't care too much about how I look. I try to be myself even though I'm still figuring myself out.

Don't get me wrong, I think it's important to keep things clean. It's just the neatness I struggle with.

I just cannot stand an unmade bed.

Punk rock should mean freedom, liking and excepting anything that you like. Playing whatever you want. As sloppy as you want. As long as it's good and it has passion.

Clutter and mess show us that life is being lived.

When you really do feel like an alien, and you really do feel like a space creature, and you really do feel you want to experiment and dress up and be different every day, to find what looks best but never stick to one thing... Just the fact that that was offered to those kids during that time is pretty remarkable.

I love chaos.... It's the poetic element in a dull and ordered world.

I don't function well in chaos, whether it be my sheets or the dishwasher.

I get a kick out of being an outsider constantly. It allows me to be creative.

I've never followed a list in my life, and that's probably what has created so much nervous energy in my body.

Poetry is man's rebellion against being what he is.

Art is maybe a subversive activity. There is a certain rebellion when you are an artist at heart, even if only in the art of living.

I'm not a neat freak. I don't mind things being messy but I mind them being dirty. I just can't relax in a dirty environment. I like things organized.

I don't follow any system. All the laws you can lay down are only so many props to be cast aside when the hour of creation arrives.

I love dancing; my kids love to dance. I think it's just another way for children to learn they can be themselves.

Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.

I'm terribly fastidious. I like symmetry and neatness, but my house is as chaotic as any other family's.

Only by living absurdly is it possible to break out of this infinite absurdity.