Whether the poet is living or dead, they're part of our imaginative community.

From the beginning. I was a poem-writing child. I wrote little novels in my composition book when I was eight, nine years old.

Poetry is a tree with very deep roots and while there may be excitement about this or that new little branch, you're not going to make anything original by just doing whatever's being rewarded at the moment.

I love that people want to know about poetry. It's one of the ways of keeping alive.

It takes courage to get clear about what your vision of the work is and to be persistent about it and pursue it, whatever you're saying. I'm still in a long learning process.

Rhythms and sounds are often the first thing I hear and want in a poem, so I can't imagine trying to translate something without at least being able to hear what it sounds like.

I think translation is an impossible job, and I admire the people who do it in a way that brings poetry to us that we wouldn't have access to.