It is essential that men start being interested in and excited by how women think.

- Holly Near

When the students were killed at Kent State, the cast voted to do a demonstration from the stage, and I abstained.

- Holly Near

To my great surprise and pleasure, I have had dinner with most of the people living with whom I would like to have dinner.

- Holly Near

To come to a concert and hear a lot of songs from a female perspective should not make men say, 'Oh well, that's for women'.

- Holly Near

Part of keeping space open is not to try to choose a form - to spend more time thinking about content, and let form take care of itself.

- Holly Near

Language is like songs, like food, like dance-it is the expression of what we think.

- Holly Near

If I didn't think and feel the way I think and feel, I couldn't sing the way I sing. And I like singing the way I sing.

- Holly Near

I don't believe in nirvana. If nirvana was handed to us on a silver platter, this would be the first day of our struggle to keep it.

- Holly Near

A lot of artists say, I'm not political. People are afraid of this word.

- Holly Near

When an audience comes to one of my concerts, I hope they'll see themselves, somewhere, in one of the songs.

- Holly Near

I'm not allowing my perspective to be dictated by the dominant culture.

- Holly Near

You just keep feeding hogwash to people, and pretty soon they'll eat it.

- Holly Near

People love to hear the mistakes you've made.

- Holly Near

My parents had been involved in the labor movement; if we'd grown up in the city, we would have been red-diaper babies.

- Holly Near

My parents encouraged thought. You'll get through life better if you learn how to think.

- Holly Near

My creativity and my political work are linked. I don't do this work out of guilt or out of responsibility.

- Holly Near

White middle- and upper-class men have a longer journey to go than many people.

- Holly Near

Leaping away from my mistakes has propelled me forward. It has great force behind it. It makes for great storytelling.

- Holly Near

It's been important to me to be a good activist, a good thinker, a good musician, a good singer, and a good entertainer. You can't do it all, but I have walked those delicate lines as best I know how.

- Holly Near

When we make mistakes, say, I'm blessed that I have an opportunity to learn from this.

- Holly Near