I'm quite sure that most writers would sustain real poetry if they could, but it takes devotion and talent.

The first money I ever had was when I received an award from the American Association of University Women.

I knew Anais Nin, who called me after I had been away for a few years. She was seeking help because at that time no one would give her a decent review. She was made fun of.

I try to teach my students style, but always as a part of life, not as ornament. Style has to come out of communicating coherent thought, not in sticking little flowers on speeches. Style and substance and a sense of life are the things literature is composed of. One must use one's own personality in relationship to life and language, of course, and everyone has such a relationship. Some people find it, some don't find it, but it's there.

The first poem I ever wrote, about loss, when I was 5 years old, expressed the themes of everything I would ever write.

I would teach from nine to four, sleep an hour, and write from six until midnight, night after night.

Dreiser... I love... and almost wouldn't speak to anyone who ever attacked him.