I think if you put something in a file that says "war poems" or "love poems" that you already restrict the way in which the poem might move.

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

I try to show what it is about language and music that enthralls, because I think those are the two elements of poetry.

Going to the library was the one place we got to go without asking for permission. And they let us choose what we wanted to read. It was a feeling of having a book be mine entirely.

I have a high guilt quotient. A poem can go through as many as 50 or 60 drafts. It can take from a day to two years - or longer.

I've always been intrigued by the way history works, the way we decide what is mentioned.

In working on a poem, I love to revise. Lots of younger poets don't enjoy this, but in the process of revision I discover things