The eye likes novelty, but the ear craves familiarity.

Every autobiography is concerned with two characters, a Don Quixote, the Ego, and a Sancho Panza, the Self.

I used to try and concentrate the poem so much that there wasn't a word that wasn't essential. This leads to becoming boring and constipated.

The primary function of poetry, as of all the arts, is to make us more aware of ourselves and the world around us. I do not know if such increased awareness makes us more moral or more efficient. I hope not. I think it makes us more human, and I am quite certain it makes us more difficult to deceive.

A craftsman knows in advance what the finished result will be, while the artist knows only what it will be when he has finished it.

Poetry makes nothing happen.

The slogan of Hell: Eat or be eaten. The slogan of Heaven: Eat and be eaten.