The inner and outer, the visible and invisible, the abstract and concrete - you've got to get the balance right (not that I do, but it's something to aim for).

I don't like speed. I would have made a terrible Futurist. Even when I did take drugs, I never liked amphetamines and much preferred the slow taffy-pull of time that you get with opiates.

I tend to like poems that are short as well as funny. I love Joe Brainard and Aram Saroyan. And I think their sense of humor and minimalist approach are pretty radical.

In a machine, every part has a function. In a poem, every word needs to be there.

I like to look at the interface between words and pictures and wonder about which comes first, a sort of chicken-or-egg type of question.

The earth has always supported me in all my endeavors. I trust it.

I tend to be a pretty spacey and scattered person, so anything that makes me feel "grounded" comes as a welcome relief.

I think the more stability a person has, the more they can follow esoteric or intellectual pursuits.

Technology sounds quick and easy, but it ends up taking up too much of your time.

Sometimes you get lit students that know a lot about the canon but virtually nothing about contemporary poetry and vice versa. I like to mix things up.

When I shut off the verbal, I like to escape into the visual.

You never did master a leer."- Katharine Murray, Death on the Family Tree

We have a president[Barack Obama] who doesn't have a clue. I would say he's incompetent, but I don't want to do that because that's not nice.

You should rule a great country As you would fry a small fish- With the least turning.

Don't eat anything incapable of rotting.

Isn’t everyone’s life a mass of contradictions?

It's exciting and encouraging that the spirit of exploration is alive and that students see it occurring in their lifetime. These may well be the children that make it a reality.

You're not asking me to guess the mind of Matrim Cauthon, are you?" Elayne asked. "I'm convinced that Mat only acts simple so that people will let him get away with more.

Whether love of friend, love of country, love of God, or even love of enemy—love reveals to us the truly miraculous nature of the human spirit.

Life is as tedious as twice-told tale, vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man.

What you have to do as a writer is . . . write day in and day out no matter what happens.