Under adversity, under oppression, the words begin to fail, the easy words begin to fail. In order to convey things accurately, the human being is almost forced to find the most precise words possible, which is a precondition for literature.

My first advice would be to read, read, read, which sounds interesting coming in a digital age, but it's so much easier to listen to a poem than it is to sit down and actually read it and to hear it in your head and that is something that every poet or aspiring poet needs to be able to do, I think to hear it in their head.

The First Book: Go ahead, it won't bite. Well... maybe a little. More a nip, like. A tingle. It's pleasurable, really. You see, it keeps on opening. You may fall in. Sure, it's hard to get started; remember learning to use knife and fork? Dig in: you'll never reach bottom. It's not like it's the end of the world -- just the world as you think you know it.

Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a poet.

I was pirouette and flourish, I was filigree and flame. How could I count my blessings when I didn't know their names?

Being true to yourself really means being true to all the complexities of the human spirit.

I carry a notebook with me everywhere. But that's only the first step.