I Was Pirouette And Flourish, I Was

I Wish Someone Had Told Me That My Stories Are Really Mine To Tell. In Other Words, Anything That I Think Is Important Or That Has Moved Me Has The Ability To Move Somebody Else.

I'm Never Quite Sure How The Poem Is Going To Resolve Itself And That I'm Always In Some Way Surprised. I Make A Discovery In A Poem As I Write It.

I Was Not Interested In Doing The Plot Of Oedipus In Blackface. I Did Wonder, What Would These People Have Been Like If They Hadn't Been In That Situation?... One Could Look At Oedipus, Or At My Character Augustus, As A Cynical Schemer Who Did Everything Because He Was Hungry For Power. But That's Just Too Easy. I'm More Interested In How Humans Can Embody Conflicting Goals And Emotions.

Being Poet Laureate Made Me Realize I Was Capable Of A Larger Voice. There Is A More Public Utterance I Can Make As A Poet.

I've Always Been Intrigued By The Way History Works, The Way We Decide What Is Mentioned.