I Carry A Notebook With Me Everywhere.

For Years, I Had Heard About The Lack Of Interest In Literature In The U.s. And I Had Complained About The Lack Of Respect Artists Got Here. In My Heart, I Failed To Understand How People Could Fail To Be Moved By Art.

I Was Pirouette And Flourish, I Was Filigree And Flame. How Could I Count My Blessings When I Didn't Know Their Names?

It Makes Me Furious To Hear Haters Of All Skin Colors - Especially Christian, Jewish, And Muslim Fundamentalists - Deride Other People Because Of Their Different Beliefs And Lifestyles.

My Best Times Are Midnight To Six Actually. I'll Leaf Through My Notebooks And If Something Catches My Eye And I Feel Like I Want To Transfer It From The Notebook To The Page, I Do, And Then Comes This Very Strange Process Which Is Difficult To Describe In That I'll Write Until I Get Stuck Or I Can't Go Any Further Or I'm Boring Myself Or Whatever And Then I Might Go To Another Poem.

Instead Of Trying To Come Up And Pontificate On What Literature Is, You Need To Talk With Children, To Teachers, And Make Sure They Get Poetry In The Curriculum Early.