From the time I began to read, as a child, I loved to feel their heft in my hand and the warm spot caused by their intimate weight in my lap; I loved the crisp whisper of a page turning, the musky odor of old paper and the sharp inky whiff of new pages. Leather bindings sent me into ecstasy. I even loved to gaze at a closed book and daydream about the possibilities inside.

I always loved science. And in fact, I got a science award in high school. I mean, I loved science, but I think I loved literature more.

If I begin writing a poem that means I'm intrigued in some way by whatever it's about and that if I'm not trying to find something new and pushing the envelope in the poem I can't expect my reader to be particularly excited about it either.

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.

I've always been intrigued by the way history works, the way we decide what is mentioned.

The joy of working at something to find out what it means to me is what I grew up with.

I believe people may have a predisposition for artistic creativity. It doesn't mean they're going to make it.