If people associate me with a region, that's fine with me.

We have a lot of long narrative poems written in the 20th century, but they're not very well known, and they're not read by very many people.

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

A lot of my students are Asian-American, and it has been thrilling to watch them break through the stereotypes into something alive and surprising.

I learned to impersonate the kind of person that talks about poetry. It comes from teaching, I think.

Among the American contemporaries I read with most enjoyment are several North Carolinians. I think the best poetry being written these days is being written by Southerners.

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