There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest is how I want to promote poetry.

There are times in life when, instead of complaining, you do something about your complaints.

I see a resurgence of interest in poetry. I am less optimistic about the prospects for the arts when it comes to federal funding.

All of us have moments in our childhood where we come alive for the first time. And we go back to those moments and think, This is when I became myself.

A good poem is like a bouillon cube. It's concentrated and it nourishes you when you need it.

Courage has nothing to do with our determination to be great. It has to do with what we decide in that moment when we are called upon to be more.

Being true to yourself really means being true to all the complexities of the human spirit.

We should always do something that makes us feel like a child again. Keep learning, no matter what it is.

The library is an arena of possibility, opening both a window into the soul and a door onto the world.

I've always been intrigued by the way history works, the way we decide what is mentioned.

Sometimes a word is found so right it trembles at the slightest explanation.

We loved each other.We hurt each other.We left each other.Now we hate each other.Let’s not stop there.Let’s finally forgive each other.

It doesn't seem right to throw dirt at you when you're dead...

I've got a lot to look forward to. I'm trying to be the best father I can, and that's a pretty important role. Some would say it's more important than stopping pucks.

We now recognize that abuse and neglect may be as frequent in nuclear families as love, protection, and commitment are in nonnuclear families.

I see God in a sunrise, not in repetitious ritual.

Facebook is the novel we are all writing

I think expectations of Doctor Who should always be high, because it's a show that must always progress and get better and better.

Middle school's amazing. It is extraordinary. An extraordinary time.

The way you see yourself is important, you see. It's as if you carve yourself out of your own interpretation. And so I became the name I was called.

I get invited to an awful lot of Jewish functions.