Rap is only one end of a whole spectrum of verbal play and virtuosity. Rap is geared for aural pleasure.

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

I didn't know writers could be real live people, because I never knew any writers.

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

Listen how they say your name. If they can't say that right, there's no way they're going to know how to treat you proper, neither.

You have to imagine it possible before you can see something. You can have the evidence right in front of you, but if you can't imagine something that has never existed before, it's impossible.

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