I'm mostly influenced by life, what's around me, and my own childhood.

Writing gives me the opportunity to explore ideas, play with language, solve problems, use my imagination, and draw on my own childhood.

When I began writing, I didn't read any other children's poets... I didn't want to be influenced until I'd found my own voice. Now I read them all.

Then I decided to draw from and on my own imagination, and everything came out perfect.

I've been influenced by poets as diverse as Dylan Thomas, Lewis Carroll, and Edgar Allan Poe.

I mean, I tend to do my own thing, and that usually crosses purposes with everyone around me.