I started writing poetry as a teenager in suburban Chicago out of emotional desperation.

Reading poetry is an adventure in renewal, a creative act, a perpetual beginning, a rebirth of wonder.

Language is an impure medium. Speech is public property and words are the soiled products, not of nature, but of society, which circulates and uses them for a thousand different ends.

There has never been a great poet who wasn't also a great reader of poetry.

The way to become a poet is to read poetry and to imitate what you read and to read passionately and widely and in as involved a way as you can.

I put down these memorandums of my affections in honor of tenderness, in honor of all of those who have been conscripted into the brotherhood of loss.

The spiritual desire for poetry can be overwhelming, so much do I need it to experience and name my own perilous depths and vast spaces, my own well-being.

But, something has to be worked through formally as well as emotionally. Now, when those two things come together I've got something, I think, that I can be proud of.

A poem is a hand, a hook, a prayer. It is a soul in action.

I was surprised recently to find a book called "Poetry in Persons" that's coming out about visit to poets to a class that Pearl London gave.

But, the best times I have found, in my life, are late at night or early in the morning and I think it's because you're outside the social realm.

Stop telling God what to do with his dice.

Feelings are involuntary reactions, so God does not say, "Feel joy." He says, "Rejoice!" It's a choice.

It's an unfortunate fact that I'm easily discouraged. But the fortunate truth is I'm stubborn as hell and near impossible to sway in my resolve.

The web of trust is built at eye level, peer to peer.

Before consulting the hotheads who present various military options such as a military invasion: remember, President Reagan, Rambo only exists in the movies.

To hate, to love, to think, to feel, to see; all this is nothing but to perceive.

You know those goals you've set for yourself, those dreams you've been waiting for the perfect time to live out? It's time!

I love the 'So You Think You Can Dance' show. I love it. I think it's some of the best hours on TV.

Have you ever been tempted to start your own business? First read this cautionary tale, especially if you think your ideas come from God.

If you so choose, each day can be filled with even more joy than the one before. If you so choose, even the most seemingly random events can work in your favor.