I'm a perfectly equipped failure.

Every great work of art ... is a celebration, an act of insubordination against the betrayals, horrors and infidelities of life.

I see people who talk about America, and then undermine it by not paying attention to its soul, to its poetry. I see polarization, reductionism and superficiality.

Once we know of atrocities we cannot remain silent, and knowledge inevitably leads to an urge to protect the innocent.

That, of course, is what great works of imagination do for us: They make us a little restless, destabilize us, question our preconceived notions and formulas.

I no longer believe that we can keep silent. We never really do, mind you. In one way or another we articulate what has happened to us through the kind of people we become.

You need imagination in order to imagine a future that doesn't exist.

It is amazing how, when all possibilities seem to be taken away from you, the minutest opening can become a great freedom.

The negative side of the American Dream comes when people pursue success at any cost, which in turn destroys the vision and the dream.

I eat my heart out alone.

I am suddenly left alone again on the sunny path, with a memory of the rain.

See the world as it is, not as you wish it would be

Poetry is the one place where people can speak their original human mind. It is the outlet for people to say in public what is known in private.

You worry yourself unnecessarily. Put the thought of hitting right out of your mind!

My favorite college experience was probably leaving college.

If American politics are too dirty for women to take part in, there's something wrong with American politics.

...Francis Galton, founder of the eugenics (master race) movement which continues today under the heading of 'population control'.

Sometimes you develop a passion for something because of some personal experience.

Some defeats are only installments to victory.

Want of punctuality is a want of virtue.