"We are shaped not only by the people we read but also the people who teach us. Those fingerprints are all over our work."

"Say somebody hit you with a wooden spoon. You might write a book about spoons or wood."

“I’ve seen people try to quit the high of meowmeowbeans, and it’s hard.”

"In Austin’s poems, whatever the catalyst, I am always aware of where I am.”

“I think I do try to get my students to listen to what their writing is already telling them about what they really want."

We discuss “horizontal” mentorship, ethical pedagogy, ekphrasis, and disidentifying with the artists you're "supposed" to love.

"I feel like I’m bringing questions I’ve been wrestling with my whole life to the things we talk about."