Every creative act is an act of hypocrisy and violence. You may have to think about it for a while, but I am sure you can discover your own.

If you have any idea for a poem, an exact grid of intent, you are on the wrong path, a dead-end alley, at the top of a cliff you haven't even climbed. This is a lesson that can only be learned by trial and error.

I'm lucky enough to occasionally be able to do something I love - write poems - and unlucky enough that what I love confuses and overwhelms me.

[On filling out a grant application:] I seek an extended period of time, free from all distractions, so that I might be free to be distracted.

There’s a difference between being alone and being lonely. Writers know that. I have never met a writer who does not crave to be alone. We have to be alone to do what we do.

Now I will give you a piece of advice. I will tell you something that I absolutely believe you should do, and if you do not do it you will never be a witer. It is a certain truth. When your pencil is dull, sharpen it. And when your pencil is sharp, use it until it is dull again.

Every creative act is an act of hypocrisy and violence. You may have to think about it for a while, but I am sure you can discover your own.