I've been a Democrat all my life.

There's so much to think about when you're becoming an adult, and there's so many great poems about that apprehension and excitement.

The happiest years of my mother's life were spent in Washington, D.C. It was where she met my father, where John was born and where I spent my earliest years.

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

After my mom died, there was so much written about her fashion and her style and all that, and I felt that one of the most important parts of her was missing, her real intellectual curiosity.

I feel like my grandparents and parents gave me a tremendous amount. And if I can pass some of that on, then I'll be very happy.

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