作家或任何艺术家都不能指望人们拥抱。我已经做了记录，似乎没人听他们的话。您写的诗歌书可能有50人阅读。而且您只是继续工作，因为您必须这样做，因为这是您的呼唤。 但是被人民拥抱真是太美了。 有些人对我说，好吧，您不认为这种成功会破坏一个艺术家吗？如果您是朋克摇杆，那么您就不想拥有热门唱片… 我对他们说，操你！
(A writer or any artist can't expect to be embraced by the people. I've done records where it seemed like no one listened to them. You write poetry books that maybe 50 people read. And you just keep doing your work because you have to, because it's your calling. But it's beautiful to be embraced by the people. Some people have said to me, Well, don't you think that kind of success spoils one as an artist? If you're a punk rocker, you don't want to have a hit record… And I say to them, Fuck you!)
帕蒂·史密斯（Patti Smith）反映了艺术和公众接待的本质，并指出，无论吸引观众如何，艺术家都必须继续他们的作品。她强调，正如她的诗歌和音乐所看到的那样，很多时候，努力都没有引起人们的注意，只有一个小观众对他们表示赞赏。但是，她还承认公众认可和拥抱工作时的喜悦，突出了艺术家旅程的双重方面。
解决成功可能破坏艺术家的观念，史密斯挑战了这一观点。她自信地断言，取得成功不应损害艺术家的诚信或使命。她的热情回应强调了她对真实性的承诺，以及艺术家不应该回避普及或好评的信念，无论其类型或最初的意图如何。