15 Quotes by Pat Mora

I did realize, as do you, how blessed I was to know bookjoy, the private pleasure of savoring text.

SecretsI am all secrets now.I know when you walk into a room.I don't need to see or hear youbehind me,but I know you're thereand wish you'd touch my shoulder when you walk by.How can you do that, without a sound,send electricity,a currentthrough a room full of people?When did this crazy secret life start?People see me but don't seeI've changed. The me people see isn't the tangled me inside,trying not to think about you,your laughsplashing like a waterfallon a hot summer day.

What writer Audre Lorde says to black men and women is true for all of us: "If we do not define ourselves, we will be defined by others for their use and to our detriment." Our country and perhaps all human history is a pattern of oppression, repression, suppression, subjugation. Racism is part of our heritage, reminding us that not all aspects of a culture should be preserved.

Writers are always diverse on the inside.

When I’m writing poetry, 99.9% of my writing begins in English. I spent most of my life in English, although I am bilingual.

I often focus more on language than on the conveying of information.

I want children who feel embarrassed because they speak Spanish to realize that there are places where the beautiful Spanish they speak is an asset.

I usually begin a poem in longhand. I like to sit where I have a nice view, ideally, although I worked on haiku this weekend at an airport. I’m not one to romanticize inspiration. I try to get to the work.

I will never know what it’s like to have only one language in my head. I have the pleasure of being able to move back and forth between Spanish and English, and I incorporate both languages in my books.