You can tell it's a poem because it's swimming in a little gel pack of white space. That shows it's a poem..

When I really want to be soothed and reminded of why people bother to fiddle with sentences, I often read poetry..

In the novel, I can change things and simplify, and make events work towards whatever meanings I'm trying to get at more efficiently..

Each decision - to kill, to sign a petition, to write a letter, to make a speech, to attack, to lie, to surrender - was made at some point in somebod….