I love the fact that I can go to a museum now that tells me I'm in the postmodern age.

I think poetry can lead to policy, and I can hear the laughter when I say that.

Because I write intuitively and image-by-image and moment-by-moment, my writing has to be powered by feelings and emotions.

People seem very comfortable having a kind of Cheesecake Factory-type of life.

Once I became historically aware, I realized there are these formative moments of history tied around tragedy and disaster and sacrifice, that led people to survive and take stock and move on with some kind of notion of betterment.

I'm interested in someone who's mired in grief: how do you get back to that thing that makes them warm? Because you know that's in there.

My grandfather is Portuguese. He betrayed what was expected of him and married my grandmother of African descent on my father's side.