"The oral tradition of the American Indian is very important to me, and it has informed much of my writing. The poem, in the strict sense of the word, does not exist in that tradition, but song
and story are indispensable and highly developed. Both are infused with poetic character. Moreover, the song in oral tradition is invested with a belief in the intrinsic power of language. That
power is definitive, and it informs the best of poems. My Kiowa father sang and told stories to me from the Kiowa oral tradition from the time I was a young child. That tradition has been
largely influential in the determination of my literary voice. My mother, who was predominately English, was a writer, and she gave me a deep love of, and respect for, the English
language."--Preface.
