If we really want to be full and generous in spirit, we have no choice but to trust at some level.

I think children have talent and insight, but it gets beaten out of them.

I was not interested in doing the plot of Oedipus in blackface. I did wonder, what would these people have been like if they hadn't been in that situation?... One could look at Oedipus, or at my character Augustus, as a cynical schemer who did everything because he was hungry for power. But that's just too easy. I'm more interested in how humans can embody conflicting goals and emotions.

I keep the drafts of each poem in color-coded folders. I pick up the folders according to how I feel about that color that day.

I thought, after the Pulitzer, at least nothing will surprise me quite that much in my life. And another one happened. It was quite amazing.

To practice your scales, so to speak, in order play the symphony, is what you have to do as a young poet.

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