I was pirouette and flourish, I was filigree and flame. How could I count my blessings when I didn't know their names?

I keep the drafts of each poem in color-coded folders. I pick up the folders according to how I feel about that color that day.

Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a poet.

I was apprehensive. I feared every time I talked about poetry, it would be filtered through the lens of race, sex, and age.

A good poem is like a bouillon cube. It's concentrated and it nourishes you when you need it.

To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet.

Rap is only one end of a whole spectrum of verbal play and virtuosity. Rap is geared for aural pleasure.