You have to really dive deep back into yourself and get rid of so much modern analytical categorization. It's one of the great things poetry does.

I did not have a very literary background. I came to poetry from the sciences and mathematics, and also through an interest in Japanese and Chinese poetry in translation.

One of the most powerful devices of poetry is the use of distortions. You can go from talking about the way a minute passes to the way a century passes, or a lifetime.

Some people want to call me an Appalachian writer, even though I know some people use regional labels to belittle.

I encourage students to pursue an idea far enough so they can see what the cliches and stereotypes are. Only then do they begin to hit pay dirt.

A poem in form still has to have voice, gesture, a sense of discovery, a metaphoric connection, as any poetry does.

I considered going to film school; I took a course in film and was very interested in filmmaking as well as film writing.