Poetry, almost by definition, calls attention to its language and form.

The great watershed of modern poetry is French, more than English.

When you have an idea for a story, you want those characters to reach as many people as you can. I think you normally think of prose as a way of doing that. It fits our time, the culture.

In the best fiction, the language itself can become almost invisible.

Some people want to call me an Appalachian writer, even though I know some people use regional labels to belittle.

What actually makes poetry poetry is of course impossible to define. We recognize it when we hear it, when we see it, but we can't define it.

Philip Larkin has a tough honesty and sense of humor that I find irresistible, as a contemporary poet.