Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the canon but virtually nothing about contemporary poetry and vice versa. I like to mix things up.

I don't like speed. I would have made a terrible Futurist. Even when I did take drugs, I never liked amphetamines and much preferred the slow taffy-pull of time that you get with opiates.

I tend to like poems that are short as well as funny. I love Joe Brainard and Aram Saroyan. And I think their sense of humor and minimalist approach are pretty radical.

In a machine, every part has a function. In a poem, every word needs to be there.

I like to look at the interface between words and pictures and wonder about which comes first, a sort of chicken-or-egg type of question.

The earth has always supported me in all my endeavors. I trust it.

I tend to be a pretty spacey and scattered person, so anything that makes me feel "grounded" comes as a welcome relief.

I think the more stability a person has, the more they can follow esoteric or intellectual pursuits.

The inner and outer, the visible and invisible, the abstract and concrete - you've got to get the balance right (not that I do, but it's something to aim for).

Technology sounds quick and easy, but it ends up taking up too much of your time.

When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.

My name is Zia Rashid.

The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter his loneliness.

Every morning brings new potential, but if you dwell on the misfortunes of the day before, you tend to overlook tremendous opportunities.

Anything that’s too safe is not action.

I am not biased against the rich because they are rich, but the most lively people are those without money who would like to have some

If you think your obstacles are too big, they will be. Don’t set limits on your life with your thinking.

Just remember that forgiveness is so much easier than regret.

Merrily, merrily, listen to me, Flitting and flying from tree to tree. Nothing fear I, by land or sea, For God in Heaven is watching me.

What could be more absurd than the idea that genuine anti-Christian prejudice is a major force in American politics.

Numerals are images of amounts. But the amounts they represent are real.