Poetry is like air. It's one of the necessary things. Everyone benefits from poetry. And as you know, poetry is international. There are only two things that are truly international, poetry and wine.

The catchword I use with my classes is: The authority of the writer always overcomes the skepticism of the reader.

The future is in good hands.

We need to make sure our children travel to see things. Not necessarily long distances but at least out of the neighborhood. On a train. A boat. An airplane.

I spend a lot of time learning about bird watching.

I always loved English because whatever human beings are, we are storytellers. It is our stories that give a light to the future. When I went to college I became a history major because history is such a wonderful story of who we think we are. English is much more a story of who we really are.

Baseball is already the world's most tranquil sport. It is probably the only active sport where you are not seriously required to be alive to play.