Dave Hickey

I hate all that woozy political and psychotherapeutic crap applied to books and art.

If I go to London, everyone wants to talk about Damien Hirst. I'm just not interested in him. Never have been.

It used to be that if you stood in front of a painting you didn't understand, you'd have some obligation to guess. Now you don't.

And when I retired, trust me, not only did Nolan Ryan, but the entire Ryan family had withdrawals from baseball. And it was tough.

I studied international relations and economics at the University of Virginia. I paid my way by working as a bartender in the summer and at three part-time jobs during the year.