I wish somebody had told me love does not die, that we can continue to receive and give love after death.

I learn through listening and watching other performers that are very good, like Denise Chávez, Dorothy Allison.

I had to learn quick, because I was performing in Cinco de Mayo festivals with babies crying and people lifting their beers, and you know the feather dancers would come, and they'd say, "What are you, a poet? You're next".

The writer Denise Chávez comments on poor food and what you associate with luxury food items. In fact, she wrote a whole book called A Taco Testimony, and though the title sounds light, it's a heavy book. It's about being working class and what kind of food is available to you that's cheap.

There's no perfect place, there's no wonderful utopia.

That's what you need for your writing - to learn how to be present, learn how to be calm. So take that nap, do that meditation.

I think people should read fairy tales, because were hungry for a mythology that will speak to our fears.