. >> host: another e-mail, this from a woman, jackie st. joan, is her name.inda was my mentor at the university of colorado where the other students and i had the benefit of writing workshops with her, being guests in her mountain home and most importantly, gaining access to her amazing mind. i write to ohioan her as a -- honor her as a wonderful and generous teacher. my question: how does your spiritual life affect your writing life, and can you give an overview of your movement as a writing from poetry to the wide range of work you create today? >> guest: hi, jackie. [laughter] i remember you. um, i hope you're doing well and, um, i think about those days. they were wonderful, those days teaching creative writing. i wanted to go back into creative writing and went back into ethnic studies later. but anyways, i went from poetry, i love poetry. i always say it's my first language, that it's really the thing i like to do the most. and i write poetry all the time. i keep doing it. no matter what else i'm working on. but i felt that i had to make a different, di