I don't like this romanticization of Indian people in which Indian people are looked at as spiritual saviors, as people who have always taken care of the land. We're human beings. But I think different cultures have developed different aspects of humanness.
I come from a long line of revolutionaries.
I started writing to save my life.
Bottom line, I have to follow what my soul says, or my spirit. And my spirit said that poetry and the arts should be without borders, should be without political borders.
The radio is playing jazz, and I listen to the sound of the trumpet playing a solo until I become that sound.
You just go where poetry is, whether it's in your heart or your mind or in books or in places where there's live poetry or recordings.
Someone accompanies every soul from the other side when it enters this place. Usually it is an ancestor with whom that child shares traits and gifts.
My mother wrote lyrics and sang but was overtaken by life with four children and worked.
We're all given something to do. And when we don't follow what we're supposed to do, we always know when we're off track.
