The biggest problem is people are afraid of poetry, think they can't understand it or that it will be boring.

It is not easy to stand up against your constituents or your friends or colleagues or your community and take a tough stand for something you believe is right. Because you always want to keep working and live to fight another battle and it might cost you your career.

One of the greatest gifts my brother and I received from my mother was her love of literature and language. With their boundless energy, libraries open the door to these worlds and so many others. I urge young and old alike to embrace all that libraries have to offer.

I've been a Democrat all my life.

I grew up in a household where reading was encouraged. My mother believed in the power of words, and my father obviously did too.

The most beautiful people are all in the library.

Sharing the holiday with other people, and feeling that you're giving of yourself, gets you past all the commercialism.