Now, he says, he wants Mason students to read his work because he wants to give something back to the university. Despite these hardships, Fowler's poetry expresses a kind of comportment with the world, even when that world includes physical pain. Fowler has been most inspired by the late poet Allen Ginsberg, but his favorite poets also include Anne Sexton, Edna St. Vincent Millay, and Robert Frost. A self-described mystic, Fowler attributes his mysticism to his connection with the world through the outdoors and his garden. He learned to garden in the sixth grade, and it became his great passion.
Fowler believes the most important things in life are care and dignity.
His most recent book, Caged Angel, contains his selected poems. It came out in October 1997.