If You Can't Be Free,

It's Unfortunate That Sometimes In Schools, There's This Need To Have Things Quantified And Graded.

I Think Reading Shakespeare's Plays When I Was Young Was Extremely Important. He Had The Ability To Make Utter Strangers Come Alive.

I Was Not Interested In Doing The Plot Of Oedipus In Blackface. I Did Wonder, What Would These People Have Been Like If They Hadn't Been In That Situation?... One Could Look At Oedipus, Or At My Character Augustus, As A Cynical Schemer Who Did Everything Because He Was Hungry For Power. But That's Just Too Easy. I'm More Interested In How Humans Can Embody Conflicting Goals And Emotions.

If You Can't Be Free, Be A Mystery.

I Think If You Put Something In A File That Says "war Poems" Or "love Poems" That You Already Restrict The Way In Which The Poem Might Move.