My dear brother Barack Obama has a certain fear of free black men. As a young brother who grows up in a white context brilliant African father he's always had to fear being a white man with black skin. All he has known culturally is white. He has a certain rootlessness a deracination.

I had to confront my fears and master my every demonic thought about inferiority insecurity or the fear of being black young and gifted in this Western culture.

I've noticed a lot of younger artists have less fear of doing different sorts of things whether it's various types of music or gallery artists moving between video and sculpture and drawing.

I don't know how it is for women or for other guys but when I was young and in my 20s I had a fear of marriage.

When you're young you're always wondering when you're actually going to feel like a grownup. And I think you probably fear it in a sense too. There's a danger to feeling like an adult... like this whimsical kid in you is going to die or something. And then all of a sudden one day you kind of feel like an adult and it's really nice.

Our society must make it right and possible for old people not to fear the young or be deserted by them for the test of a civilization is the way that it cares for its helpless members.

I never dared to be radical when young for fear it would make me conservative when old.

More than anything else my mother wanted to be an actress - a famous actress - which in the 1950s was all about being young sexy and available. She was all that and more. She had big blue eyes alabaster skin a heart-shaped face a beautiful figure. She was just a knockout.

When I was young I did actually model and was much photographed by famous photographers. But I was always a bookworm.

It wasn't not being famous any more or even not being a recording artist. It was having nobody who needed me no phones ringing nothing to do. Because I'm still too young to do nothing. I was only 24 when all that happened. Now at 40 I feel I've got more to give than I ever have.