If they don't read, if they don't love reading; if they don't find themselves compulsively reading, I don't think they're really a writer

I grew up in Ohio, where civil-rights accomplishments had already begun to accelerate before Martin Luther King appeared. In hindsight, we know that many people, black and white, were instrumental in changing the Jim Crow status quo on all levels.

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

The poetry that sustains me is when I feel that, for a minute, the clouds have parted and I've seen ecstasy or something

What's a word, a talisman, to hold against the world?

I always loved science. And in fact, I got a science award in high school. I mean, I loved science, but I think I loved literature more.

By making us stop for a moment, poetry gives us an opportunity to think about ourselves as human beings on this planet and what we mean to each other.