I am, you know, a Democrat through and through. I've always voted Democratic. You know, that is where my heart lies.

In a funny way, poems are suited to modern life. They're short, they're intense. Nobody has time to read a 700-page book. People read magazines, and a poem takes less time than an article.

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

I've been a Democrat all my life.

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.

As much as we need a prosperous economy, we also need a prosperity of kindness and decency.

Many people remember that spirit that President Kennedy summoned forth. Many people look to me as somebody who embodies that sense of possibility.