I tend to write poetry that is rich in data of various sorts. The lyric poem isn't perfectly suited to accommodating such data, so I've had to find new ways to say everything that I want to say.

People who publish poetry today do it from a sense that poetry needs to be published, not because they think they are going to make money.

Poetry resonates differently in each culture; it doesn't in America.

I like each of my books to be different. Once I've done something I like to move on and push myself to learn new things and expand the limits of poetic form.

Poems are language turned into art; sound and sense matter; they can be as long or longer than The Odyssey or as short or shorter than a haiku. Not very helpful.

Many other cultures value poetry more than we do. In Ireland, poetry is a top cultural pursuit, the art to end all arts.

A poem employs both the sound and the sense of language, it treats words not just as signifiers but as a plastic medium of artistic expression.

The culture stays alive, but certain parts of it die or fail, and that's very interesting to me.

It's not surprising to me that books ended up playing a central role in my life, but it is somewhat mysterious that poetry did.

Definitions are the guardians of rationality, the first line of defense against the chaos of mental disintegration.

He groaned a little and pulled his mouth free, pressing it against her forehead, then her cheeks. "I was going to start a fire ---" He smiled down at her. "You did.

When the words have been said and the music has been played, feelings are the only form of art which will remain to reign. (Soar)

Many people don't know our famous 'soup kitchen' episode on Seinfeld was inspired by an actual soup restaurant off 8th Avenue in New York.

The only lifestyle I'm promoting is the lifestyle of love and friendship. The lifestyle of music, and joy, and fashion. So whoever wants to come and get part of that lifestyle, we accept anybody.

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers, and I linger on the shore, And the individual withers, and the world is more and more.

My earliest influences were things I heard in my household.

The true creator may be recognized by his ability always to find about him, in the commonest and humblest thing, items worthy of note.

The big diffrence between a warrior and a victim is that the victim represses and the warrior refrains.

I have Graham Greene's telephone number, but I wouldn't dream of using it. I don't seek out writers because we all want to be alone.