I have thought for many years that the audience any creative writer imagines has a great effect on what gets written.

As far as I can tell, writing the essays didn't change the way I wrote poetry. Although the essays contain scattered passages that might be called lyrical, they often contain closed statements of what is only suggested in the poetry.

A poetic list is a talent in itself. You can write a list of things, and it can be boring.

I think the language of science is highly lyrical and evocative and an important part of our lives in many ways.

The greatest tragedy that can befall a poet is to be praised by being misunderstood.

Often when I write poetry I don't quite know what I'm saying myself. I mean, I can't restate the poem. The meaning of the poem is the poem.

To my mind, most prose poems are more prose than poetry. They don't possess most of the qualities of a poem.