I have thought for many years that the audience any creative writer imagines has a great effect on what gets written.

Ordering is very important with essays, even if a reader doesn't read the essays or the poems in order through the book...

I do love writing prose interspersed with the poetry of other people. Their rhythms break into my prose and create a connection.

Often I'm struck by something that I read; then I go and research it a little more, especially if I begin a poem, and I find out that I need to know more. Then I usually get intrigued and excited about whatever it is I'm writing about.

I love the language. I'm just totally fascinated by the sound and the look of words and the kinds of cadences you can create with them, the various kinds of music.

A poetic list is a talent in itself. You can write a list of things, and it can be boring.

We're all vulnerable in our various ways, and what we are physically, our bodies, is what has developed with the goal of keeping that life safe and intact, at least until we have procreated. That's what our bodies are, the protection of life.