Generally speaking, life is so rich and full of variety; you have to remember all the time that there is a comical side to everything.

I started earning a living as a poet rather early on.

Animals don't even try to look any different from what nature intended. They humbly wear their shells, scales, spines, plumes, pelts, and down. ... The conscious impulse to change one's appearance is found only among humans.

They say the first sentence in any speech is always the hardest. Well, that one's behind me, anyway.

I don't know the role I'm playing. I only know it's mine, non-convertible.

Poets yearn, of course, to be published, read, and understood, but they do little, if anything, to set themselves above the common herd and the daily grind.

When I mention somebody, that doesn't necessarily mean that I identify with him, personally or poetically. I'm extremely happy when I encounter poets who are different than I am. The ones who have their own distinct poetics provide me with the greatest experiences.