I've been writing poems and stories since I was about 13.

Writing was always an aspiration, but I'd kept it a secret even from myself.

There's something immediate about the experience of reading a poem - whether it's the music or some other element of it - that just seems to access another part of the brain. You know, Charles Olson talks about this transfer of energy that happens between the writer and the reader of the poem. I guess there's something essential to me about acknowledging upfront the immensity of it - the difficulty of it - and even allowing that to be the subject.

I think a diversity of expression can only be good, so I think the more that people write about their experience, use their imagination to deal with their experience, you know, I think that's going to be good for not only for those authors but also for people who are interested in trying to understand it.

Freedom is not the same as lack of accountability.

I guess I find the boundaries between poetry and prose to be somewhat permeable.

My personal opinion is that if someone writes honestly about war, it will inherently be anti-war.