It's why muse is so impatient with me. I don't ever go to her until after the teaching or whatever is over.

Breath and brevity are sisters; the long-winded is an enemy who muffles your heartbeat.

I'm always resisting [my muse]. I'm resisting her power.

I do want to do the entire alphabet. There's in [Walker's Alphabet] a poem called "A Life" in that grouping. I was going to change that title to "A."

In publishing books and winning awards, it's like you've enjoyed this meal, you know, two months ago. How long can you be nourished by thinking about it? You've already ingested it, and you've excreted it, and that was two months ago. You had this fabulous meal. It's not going to keep you satiated today. You have to go out and get your next meal. For me, that's writing. I have to go out and hunt my next meal.

Once you stop talking about the female body empowering itself vis-à-vis male forays or invasions or male demands or the necessity to respond to husband and son to bring the issue down to a more concrete level, the body is a different manifestation physically.

My brothers were my peers, but they were not the preeminent male figures in my emotional life.