A college professor once compared my writing to a Sam Shepard play. I didn’t know what he was talking about. I didn’t really understand what Sam was writing about. But, I took it as a great compliment.

I tried. I don’t know how you study Sam Shepard. No one I approached seemed to speak of his work with much clarity or great insight. I read once that Sam collaborated with his then girlfriend Patti Smith in the writing of an Off-Broadway play. Patti had told him she knew nothing about writing plays, but Sam taught her very fast . They took turns writing lines of dialogue. They literally pushed a typewriter back and forth across a table. At the end of two days and two nights, they had put together Cowboy Mouth. Many critics and fans believe this is one of Sam's most exciting pieces of work.

I still don’t understand why they liked it so much. I’m not sure Sam even liked it. He quit the production after a few short weeks. But here is why I’m writing about him today: I don’t think Sam ever considered college professors, critics, or people like me when he wrote.

He just let it rip.

What else do you need to know?