Vietnam helped me to look at the horror and terror in the hearts of people and realize how we can't aim guns and set booby traps for people we have never spoken a word to. That kind of impersonal violence mystifies me.

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

I see many black males grasping for some thread of hope. There are so many destructive practices, glimpses into a psychic abyss. That must be very frightening.

Students often have such a lofty idea of what a poem is, and I want them to realize that their own lives are where the poetry comes from. The most important things are to respect the language; to know the classical rules, even if only to break them; and to be prepared to edit, to revise, to shape.

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.

Poetry helps me understand who I am. It helps me understand the world around me. But above all, what poetry has taught me is the fact that I need to embrace mystery in order to be completely human.

Paris is different from LA in regards to its historical architecture. I think that's what gives Paris it's charm and beauty.

I think you can leave the arts, superior or inferior, to the conscience of mankind.

When I make art, I think about its ability to connect with others, to bring them into the process.

I think art is the imperfectly perfect or perfectly imperfect way of self-expression.

I think all art - even one as lowly as making jokes about celebrities - is there to make a connection.

I think in art, but especially in films, people are trying to confirm their own existences.