The writing of a poem is like a child throwing stones into a mineshaft. You compose first, then you listen for the reverberation.

Imitation, if it is not forgery, is a fine thing. It stems from a generous impulse, and a realistic sense of what can and cannot be done.

The lullaby is the spell whereby the mother attempts to transform herself back from an ogre to a saint.

Babies are not brought by storks and poets are not produced by workshops.

Hearing that the same men who brought us 'South Park' were mounting a musical to be called 'The Book of Mormon,' we were tempted to turn away, as from an inevitable massacre.

One does not become a guru by accident.

Windbags can be right. Aphorists can be wrong. It is a tough world.

In rap, as in most popular lyrics, a very low standard is set for rhyme; but this was not always the case with popular music.

My feeling is that poetry will wither on the vine if you don't regularly come back to the simplest fundamentals of the poem: rhythm, rhyme, simple subjects - love, death, war.

English poetry begins whenever we decide to say the modern English language begins, and it extends as far as we decide to say that the English language extends.

Poetry carries its history within it, and it is oral in origin. Its transmission was oral.

I do not believe anyone can be perfectly well, who has a brain and a heart

It is not so easy as running and not running.

Experience is making mistakes and learning from them.

Do you think we choose the times into which we are born? Or do we fit the times we are born into?

When an upstart dictator in the United States succeeds in making this a one-party form of government, I shall have the courage to stand up and advocate the use of bullets.

Experience is always a trustworthy guide; it may not tell you everything, but it never lies.

I've always said I've got the coolest fans, and I brag about you like grandchildren when I talk to other artists.

New beginnings – professional, personal, or come what may – are always uncomfortable, but being open to them is the only way to grow. In the end, we are all capable of so much more than we think.

My sight My heart My Life All three words I have woven into one ... Love.

Sometimes you'll laugh. Sometimes you'll cry. Life never tells us, the when's or why's. When you've got friends, to wish you well. You'll find your point when. You will exhale.