Everything that is most mine belongs to everyone now.

Instead of putting cheese with ranchero sauce, chile is really very good for you. If you put that in, you get flavoring, so you're not eating bland food, especially if you're used to spicy food.

I was reading Emily Dickinson and Edwin Arlington Robinson, but these weren't the poets that influenced me. I think Gwendolyn Brooks influenced me because she wrote about Chicago, and she wrote about poor people. And she influenced me in my life by giving me a blurb. I would see her in action, and she listened to every single person. She didn't say, "Oh, I'm tired. I gotta go." She was there, and present, with every single person. She's one of the great teachers.

I know there are a lot of women who are afraid of driving on highways.

One press account said I was an overnight success. I thought that was the longest night I've ever spent.

Even if we don't know if God exists, we can be certain love exists, because its power transcends death.

If you're going to write about the river, you've got to get in.