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I always associate art and artists -- poets, novelists, painters, musicians, dancers, whatever -- with warmth and a generosity of spirit. Some form of continually creative curiosity about the world surrounding them and the possibilities of their art. An atmosphere of hate, prejudice and mean-spiritedness is the enemy of anything that makes your mind, and heart, step out. There are exceptions, of course, who feed on bitterness, such as Celine, but I feel that they are very much the exception. I'm not talking about going around with an inane happy grin, Born Again & Co., or Walt Disney saccharine. I'm talking about a real openness -- in eye, ear, and heart. I'm talking about a sturdy vigour, a real intelligence, and that wholly admirable and necessary virtue -- enthusiasm.

--lee harwood