poems are small moments of enlightenment

[T]he one thing I want for you is to recognize when you are really singing in writing practice and honor that. Trust that. When you were screaming on the page. Maybe that doesn't make a whole book but that is the true seed.

I think talent is like a water table under the earth—you tap it with your effort and it comes through you.

Write what disturbs you, what you fear, what you have not been willing to speak about. Be willing to be split open.

I used to think freedom meant doing whatever you want. It means knowing who you are, what you are supposed to be doing on this earth, and then simply doing it.

Poetry has never been a favorite American pastime.

As writers we need to crack open language.