It makes me furious to hear haters of all skin colors - especially Christian, Jewish, and Muslim fundamentalists - deride other people because of their different beliefs and lifestyles.

What writing does is to reveal.

Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we are called upon to be more.

The joy of working at something to find out what it means to me is what I grew up with.

For years, I had heard about the lack of interest in literature in the U.S. and I had complained about the lack of respect artists got here. In my heart, I failed to understand how people could fail to be moved by art.

Can it be that even as one grows to fit the space one lives in, one cannot grow until there's space to grow?

There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest is how I want to promote poetry