That's point of writing: building what you need, right?

I go through periods of not writing. Until there's something I can't find in the world that I need, so I write.

Poetry is a lousy form of activism; it doesn't really change much. And maybe we can point to one or two historical times when a poem has started a revolution or a rebellion or an uprising, but it doesn't happen that often, and if you put the number of poems next to the number of political acts, it would be pretty slim.

I think that I have less conviction than ever that poetry matters - that poetry changes or saves anything or anyone. But, in fact, that's tremendously freeing. If it doesn't matter much, the stakes are lower and you can't really fail. It's insurrection. It's a tiny alphabet revolution. A secret. A psalm.

At a certain point, you have to face the fact that you've turned into an old fart.

Hypothesis: To burn and not consume.
Hypothesis: To consume and not extinguish.