Sometimes poetry--words--give us a small, lovely look at ourselves. And sometimes that is enough.

Im working on a bunch of things with my daughter Emily. In some ways, shes a smarter and better editor than I am.

All the world can be found in poetry. All you need to see and hear. All the moments, good and bad, joyous and sad.

I never work from an outline, and often I dont know how the story will end.

Fact and fiction are different truths.

I love to talk to children about making mistakes. Its important that I tell them about how I dont get it right the first time. We live in such a perfectionist society, and they see so many finished products and polished performances.

I think its important to remember where I began. I know that when I talk to other writers, say, writers from the South or writers from abroad, its where they begin as children that is important to them.