Fiction writers learn about the development of metaphor, the use of rhythm, the way that language is compacted in order to express the feelings of - express their own feelings and the feelings of their characters.

A great model for this is the way that Dante calls on Virgil at the beginning of 'The Inferno,' 'The Divine Comedy,' to help guide him through the underworld.

Fiction writers learn about the development of metaphor, the use of rhythm, the way that language is compacted in order to express the feelings of - express their own feelings and the feelings of their characters.

First of all I think that poetry is very noble and I always have with me the sense of the nobility of poetry.

Cafeteria-style education, combined with the unwillingness of our schools to place demands on students, has resulted in a steady diminishment of commonly shared information between generations and between young people themselves.

I think it's true that that's something that poetry can go to school on fiction. I think poetry can go to fiction to learn.

I would keep in mind to a young poet that you are entering into something that is very important, that has always been important in terms of human concerns.