Arthur Smith

When a writer dies you get a higher standard of obituary.

About every four years, someone says to me, 'I've got a friend who looks exactly like you.' What can you say to this?

I have a suspicion that a lot of artists are trying to get a laugh but, unlike stand-ups, they don't get an immediate response from their audience; a laugh is a rare thing in a gallery.

Woman must not accept; she must challenge. She must not be awed by that which has been built up around her; she must reverence that woman in her which struggles for expression.

Composers, like authors, have a lot in common. Our main goal is to connect with the listener emotionally.

Another thing that freaks me out is time. Time is like a book. You have a beginning, a middle and an end. It's just a cycle.