The absolute bedrock of our independence is having control over our own bodies. You cannot be independent if the government or someone else says whether or not you can use birth control. Unless you're in charge of your body, you're not in charge of anything. I think that's really the bottom line of feminism.

Pain is not love. Love flowers; love gives without taking; love is serene and calm.

I think poetry is the best thing I do. It's certainly the purest. I seem to switch gears without too much trouble. Non-fiction is in many ways the easiest to write.

The Lives of Great Men are more oft' at variance with their profess'd Phillosophies than consistent with 'em.

It takes courage to lead a life. Any life.

At times it is strangely sedative to know the extent of your own powerlessness.

You must have a certain amount of maturity to be a poet. Seldom do sixteen-year-olds know themselves well enough.