In grad school, a friend and I gave ourselves the task of writing poems in the voice of Beyoncé and Lady Gaga after they did the collaboration for "Telephone." I just kind of kept going. That was quite a while ago - Beyoncé meant something very different then than she does now.

Language from songs and TV shows feel integral because it helps to create the environment and describe the full picture.

I'm not reading any kind of fantasy [for young adults] or Hunger Games or anything like that. It's more just like geeks with crushes. It's very sweet, and I'm enjoying how honest they are, and I'm enjoying the humanity in them.

I really hope that people feel permission to talk about their own troubles, but also to celebrate themselves.

I think that we need to make it our goal to define freedom for ourselves.

I've been thinking a lot about folks denying what has happened in history, or just not acknowledging it.

Where I would usually backspace, I stop and say, "You know what? This is important, that I say how I feel and don't sugarcoat it, and don't avoid it."