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.

To the extent that we are all educated and informed, we will be more equipped to deal with the gut issues that tend to divide us.

We need a President who is not afraid of complexity, who believes in an open and tolerant society, and who knows that the world can be made new again - and that President is Al Gore.

People don't always realize that my parents shared a sense of intellectual curiosity and a love of reading and of history.

Poetry is really a way of sharing feelings and ideas.

Well, I think, you know, the arts are really what - one of the things that make this country strong. We always think it's our economy or our military power, but in fact, I think it's our culture, our civilization, our ideas, our creativity.

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.