I don't think I solve problems in my poetry; I think I uncover the problems.

I enjoyed teaching. I liked the students. Having to formulate my ideas about literature made them clearer. I did not particularly enjoy the more bureaucratic aspects of the job. However, if you are teaching fervently, your energy and time are used up at a great rate.

I've learned quite a lot, over the years, by avoiding what I was supposed to be learning.

You hear doom and gloom about the Internet ruining young people's command of English - that's nonsense.

I saw all of the films [based on The Tempest] available, including the one with Helen Mirren in which Prospero is Prospera - you wonder, "Would it work?" But it does, because anything she does works.

Don't be married to a line or verse if it can't rhyme, fit the meter, or doesn't fit the outline.

The heart of Jesus glowed, because it was holy. Holy things glowed in general.