Poetry connects you to yourself, to the self that doesn't know how to talk or negotiate.

There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest is how I want to promote poetry

I write short stories, and I wrote a play.

Can it be that even as one grows to fit the space one lives in, one cannot grow until there's space to grow?

I have a high guilt quotient. A poem can go through as many as 50 or 60 drafts. It can take from a day to two years - or longer.

I prefer to explore the most intimate moments, the smaller, crystallized details we all hinge our lives on.

Equality and self-determination should never be divided in the name of religious or ideological fervor.