If You Can't Be Free, Be A

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 Never Think Of My Audience When I Write A Poem. I Try To Write Out Of Whatever Is Haunting Me; In Order For A Poem To Feel Authentic, I Have To Feel I'm Treading On Very Dangerous Ground, Which Can Mean That The Resulting Revelations May Prove Hurtful To Other People. The Time For Thinking About That Kind Of Guilt Or Any Collective Sense Of Responsibility, However, Occurs Much Later In The Creative Process, After The Poem Is Finished.

In Fact, Sometimes Traveling The World Is A Way Of Not Writing A Poem, But It's The Quality Of Experience. It's Being Able To Experience Something And When You Begin To Write About It Be Able To Apply The Tools That You Need For Writing.

When I Was Young, I Was Older Than I Am Today.

Equality And Self-determination Should Never Be Divided In The Name Of Religious Or Ideological Fervor.