We have a lot of long narrative poems written in the 20th century, but they're not very well known, and they're not read by very many people.

I seem to keep returning to my father in poems because his personality was so extreme, so driven. He did everything to excess.

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

Some people swear by writing courses, but whether it really helps American poetry, I have doubts.

Distance not only gives nostalgia, but perspective, and maybe objectivity.

I love to create interesting textures with language. You can do it as long as it seems like a discovery.

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.