EXCERPT FROM THE INTERVIEW

Art is important in a democracy, because every individual has an original relationship to the truth and to the universe, and there is something central about each of us, in some way. When I think about America now, I see great changes looming, and the question I would ask is, “Are we afraid of the future?” I think poetry is central to how we view ourselves, it’s more important than politics–politicians just do what politicians have always done, while poets discover what’s unique about ourselves, what lets us as a people look into the future and embrace what we see there.