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

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 loved to write when I was a child. I wrote, but I always thought it was something that you did as a child, then you put away childish things.

The library is an arena of possibility, opening both a window into the soul and a door onto the world.

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

Crassly put: When I write, I am trying not to bore myself and my readers.

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.