 He has also acknowledged the influence of writers including Sam Shepard, Flannery O’Connor, Cormac McCarthy, William Faulkner, J.G.Ballard, Dennis Cooper, Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour on his own work.In answer to the question of why he writes poetry, Coburn has said "It simply isn't a conscious decision I make to write poetry, but an impulsion that cannot be ignored.