It wasn't a deliberate decision to become a poet. It was something I found myself doing - and loving. Language became an addiction.

I'm uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem.

Poets are seen as the caretakers of language, so working with words no matter what the form is what we do.

Through the years I have seen myself as a peaceful person, but the awareness of the anger is part of that process.

I originally wanted to embrace the imagery and forthrightness of rap music. There are some interesting, dynamic voices in rap. But I find most of it irresponsible in its overt violence and commercialization of anger. As artists, we believe we can will action through language. If that's the case, we have to take responsibility for what we say.

I define poetry as celebration and confrontation. When we witness something, are we responsible for what we witness? That's an on-going existential question. Perhaps we are and perhaps there's a kind of daring, a kind of necessary energetic questioning. Because often I say it's not what we know, it's what we can risk discovering.