Crassly put: When I write, I am trying not to bore myself and my readers.

There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.

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

By making us stop for a moment, poetry gives us an opportunity to think about ourselves as human beings on this planet and what we mean to each other.

In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy this, but in the process of revision I discover things

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