I exaggerate. I oversimplify. I generalize. But there’s no cynicism here. American poetry is a mess. Long live American poetry.

Poetry is an art spoken, as if sung, in relation to other human beings.

Literary lineage is part of your autobiography. The authors are the literary base, the image base, the character base that you bring into your civilian work. Same with film, architecture, music, sports. That's one tributary of the autobiography.

For a long time, I saw writing prose as chewing rocks compared to the velocities of writing poetry.

I think I did experience culture shock. When I first arrived in Boston, I was basically told to go home. Homeboy is what they called me - very funny. I didn't take offense. I just thought, This is exactly where I want to be. The pace was different. Houston is a sprawling city. Boston is just crammed into the size of a postage stamp.

American poetry is a mess. Long live American poetry.