1. The Meme

In a lot of ways memes dumb down stuff, but conceptually I love what they have brought to our lives. Sometimes I walk out of my bedroom and my hair or my clothes are crazy. And my daughter goes: “You’re a meme.” I can just say “My cat’s a meme” and people get it. It’s this warped perspective that seems to touch everyone.

2. Kitsch

It has to be vintage. I brought an example [holds it up]. It’s a Sexometer that tells you if you’re “worthless,” “a square,” “romantic,” ”sex starved.” I’m an “amateur.” When I was a little girl, we’d be driving on the freeway in Texas and there’d be these roadside attractions and I wanted to stop so badly. And if we did stop, it would be horrible, like animals in formaldehyde jars. I used to have a collection of Buddhas and this is the one I kept [holds up a pink-velvet Buddha]. He’s also a piggy bank — a Buddha bank. I’ve had my collecting bouts but I’m pushing things out.

3. Jenny Holzer

My boyfriend, who lives in New York City — we’re in a long-distance relationship — is a composer and multimedia artist named Mikel Rouse. He’s my favorite person to go to museums with because he tells me everything about the art, the artist, the movement, and does not use art-speak, which I hate. I was a little familiar with Jenny Holzer but a few years ago I was with my daughter at the Tate Modern and we walked into a Jenny Holzer room. Seeing art affect her was so special. I could see her linger, with things going on in her head and in her heart. It made me very grateful to Jenny Holzer.

4. Words With Friends

I have 27 games going at a time [laughs]. I like it because it’s words, but also you do it at your leisure, it doesn’t trigger obsession. It’s a part of my life that I don’t know that I’m proud of, exactly, but it’s a big part. I’m a Scrabble ninja with this game. Sometimes if I’m winning I just throw one out, but if I’m behind, I will spend hours if not days trying everything to get the most points. I play to win.

5. Wislawa Szymborska

I discovered her probably at the end of the ’90s. I wanted to be literate with poetry so I went to the poetry section at the bookstore and pulled a few books I had heard of, a few I hadn’t heard of. As soon as I opened hers, I was drawn in. Sometimes when I’m stuck on a line in a song, I flip through one of her books. She reboots my perspective and makes me approach my writing a little differently. I love how she approaches things that are deep and heavy with a light touch, humor and humanity. She’s my favorite.