I like the freedom that comes with lowered expectations.

In the best nonfiction, it seems to me, you're always made aware that you are being engaged with a supple mind at work. The story line or plot in nonfiction consists of the twists and turns of a thought process working itself out.

Until people see poetry as springing from all of life, they will isolate it in a creativity corner and treat it like a mascot.

My other work, teaching, also is satisfying because I can be with people but in controlled circumstances, which aren't as likely to yield the pain of dealing with family.

For most of my life, I have wanted broad impact but now, at 72, I'm not so sure that's always my first priority.

I'm fortunate in being able to find great satisfaction in my work.

Domesticity has been a challenge for me but painful as it's been, engaging with family has been a school for reducing solipsism and increasing my understanding of people's different reactions to stress.