Gwendolyn Brooks is a major influence. I was fascinated by how, sometimes with just few words, she could create characters who felt like real, complicated people you might meet anywhere, not just two-dimensional characters. I read as much of her work as I could find. I especially studied her great poem “In the Mecca,” and her novel, Maude Martha. My book, Central Air, is full of observations about people living in the city. I work hard to make them feel like real people. While our styles are very different, my work has been heavily influenced by what I learned from her.
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