EXCERPT FROM THE INTERVIEW

John F. Kennedy wrote, “When power leads man toward arrogance, poetry reminds him of his limitations. When power narrows the area of man’s concern, poetry reminds him of the richness and diversity of existence. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” A poem achieves in a few lines what a novel accomplishes in hundreds of pages, communicating in language so distilled and powerful that we are simply not able to digest it. The artist is a ruthless and compassionate conscience, exactly suited to grapple with what could be called our national journey.