Without imagination we can go nowhere. And imagination is not restricted to the arts. Every scientist I have met who has been a success has had to imagine.

I was pirouette and flourish, I was filigree and flame. How could I count my blessings when I didn't know their names?

My best times are midnight to six actually. I'll leaf through my notebooks and if something catches my eye and I feel like I want to transfer it from the notebook to the page, I do, and then comes this very strange process which is difficult to describe in that I'll write until I get stuck or I can't go any further or I'm boring myself or whatever and then I might go to another poem.

I think reading Shakespeare's plays when I was young was extremely important. He had the ability to make utter strangers come alive.

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.

My favorite poets may not be your bread and butter. I have more favorite poems than favorite poets.

I think that when a poem can move readers across generations and across its specific class or race then it becomes truly classic.