– So, uh, everyone’s wrong but you? In France, in Italy, Germany, America?
– Listen to me, Theo. Before you can change the world … you must realize you yourself are part of it. You cannot stand outside looking in.
– You’re the one who stands outside. You’re the one who refused to sign a petition against the Vietnam War.
– Poets don’t sign petitions. They sign poems.
– A petition is a poem.
– Yes! And a poem is a petition. Thank you, but I’m not gaga yet. I don’t need you to remind me of my own work!
– Hmm?
– That’s right.
– A petition is a poem, a poem is a petition.
– Yes.
– Those are the most famous lines you ever wrote. And now look at you.

Mao and the culture - Theo, Isa and Matthew