I thought of the pillowcases as a symbol of love and loss, of retaining the memory of your loved one.

Sometimes it may be something I hear in the news that affects me.

Everything around you can use. It's like your tools and your material. Whether it's in performing arts like dance, or visual arts, or poetry, a lot of those elements can come and help you, can trigger your creativity. But you have to be open, be aware, and you have to be ready to look.

Even though I'm not privileged in the money world, I'm privileged in other ways: I had greater access to education, I can travel, etc. It's the same with writing: the freedom to move in and out of different places, of different realms of existence, of different life forms.

I read a lot when I was in school in the United States, and even though writing in English is very difficult for me, I wrote in journals.

You get closer to your own humanity by understanding the stories of other people and the struggles they have.

I thought of the pillowcases as a symbol of love and loss, of retaining the memory of your loved one.