I started writing when I was 9 years old. I was like this weird kid who would just stay in my room typing little funny magazines and drawing comic strips.

In a funny way poems are suited to modern life. They're short they're intense. Nobody has time to read a 700-page book. People read magazines and a poem takes less time than an article.

I don't think 'Gee I'd like to dress this person.' There was a picture in Us magazine. It was a jersey dress and Courtney Love was wearing it. I have this thing about Courtney Love this funny worship.

And why do we who say we oppose tyranny and demand freedom of speech allow people to go to prison and be vilified and magazines to be closed down on the spot for suggesting another version of history.

As a freelance writer I'd be asked to become an expert for various magazines on any subject whether food or wine or history or the life span of veterinarians. I was completely unschooled in any of these things.

This June I'll travel once again to the Food and Wine Magazine Classic in Aspen Colorado. For many years my dear friend Julia Child and I have teamed up to teach classes together at the event for the past seven years my daughter Claudine has been my cooking partner on stage.

The magazine the daytime show we've always tried to write affordable accessible. Those are key words for us and I do mean us a huge staff of people at the magazine who love to cook affordable friendly food that helps families eat better for less.

I'd gone from being this art student messing about with music to this girl with a record deal magazine front covers and all this hype. In many ways it was everything I ever wanted but when it happened all I felt was total paralysing fear.

It's very difficult today for girls to become supermodels. There is a lot more competition a lot of countries in the East have opened up so there are many more models than there were in the Nineties. Now they have to compete with famous actresses but also with say reality stars to be on the magazine covers.

I definitely wanted to be an actor. I didn't want to be on TV I didn't want to be famous I didn't want to be anyone in particular I just wanted to do it. I see young people now who look at magazines or American Idol and their goal is to have that lifestyle - to have good handbags or go out with cute guys from shows or whatever. But I definitely wanted to be an actor.