World War II synchronizes things for a lot of people. There's a kind of wakeup call.

In my teen years and early twenties I was really interested in this fellaheen worlds that, of course, Kerouac invokes and wanting to go below the border and wanting to get to these other places or interstices of the culture where you were encountering the realities of these other kinds of cultures, experiences, language, I think of jazz culture of course.

Personally there is first: imagination; second: the act of writing - and third: the act/act of vocalizing.

I took my vow to poetry; this is where I'm going to be. These are my people; this is my tribe. This is where I'm going to put my energy.

Literal thousands of Americans taking to the road and getting into that green automobile and just going. At the same time there is real incredible work [of art] that comes out of it. Never forget that.

For me there is a poesis, a poetics, around the trope of the road that is embedded within many life experiences of the people I've been close to.

It's so rich as a trope - the whole idea of the road and it being in terms of language, being an active experience.