"The mind in creation is as a fading coal, which some invisible influence, like an inconstant wind, awakens to transitory brightness . . . . Could this influence be durable in its original purity and force, it is impossible to predict the greatness of the results: but when composition begins, inspiration is already on the decline."--Percy Bysshe Shelley, Defence of Poetry

"Every artist is a cannibal, every poet is a thief / All kill their inspiration and sing about the grief."--U2, "The Fly," Achtung Baby