I consider poetry my vocation, not my "career." My career is as a university professor; that's what pays the bills.

I consider poetry my vocation, not my "career." My career is as a university professor; that's what pays the bills.

I like it when poems are challenging, when they concern matters important and personal to the author.

Place is extremely important to my work because I am always pulling landscape imagery into my poems.

I do believe that one's writing life needs to be kept separate from Po-Biz. Personally, I deal with this by not attending too many poetry readings, primarily reading dead poets or poems in translation, reading Poets & Writers only once for grant/contest information before I quickly dispose of it, and not reading Poetry Daily. Ever.

My day does not truly begin until I've acquired and consumed a 32-ounce Big Gulp of diet coke from 7-Eleven. It's the Big Gulp that's important, not 7-Eleven, where I find the employees rather disagreeable.

Different drinks have different metaphorical weight. Wine's heady, gin is poisonous, vodka's cold, and beer is plain boring. In real life, I'm a big fan of boxed white wine, much to the dismay of my more refined friends.