“I don’t think imitation is bad, like writing a poem in the style of a poet you admire, but it’s a lot more fun for me to engage them directly. I enjoy wearing my influences on my sleeves.”
“My hope is that we can dismantle and rebuild a community where we build each other up and support each other instead of trying to keep people/certain work out.”
“I just want to help people get closer to the feelings they want to feel.”
There are moments on trains where you do not feel part of the world, frictionless and floating. You glide, powered by one simple push forward, your wheels spinning without gripping onto anything.
Think of how it must feel to lose everything you’ve ever worked for to the showy unpredictability of a nature growing over the millennia. No one is ever safe.
I want poetry to till and tilt. I want it to renew and restage difficult questions from unexpected perspectives.
I believe that if you become too aware of or too focused on your intention, you’re likely to end up dead in the water.
I trust the reader to be able to understand the horror and tenderness innate in a situation. My job is to write it down as clearly as I can, and without judgment. There’s a difference between voyeurism and witness.
I didn’t want to provide my reader with the solace of a comfortable laugh. I think the best laughs are ones we feel guilty about indulging in.