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I know my voice has a limited range of motion; I don't write dramatic monologues and pretend to be other people. But so far, my voice is broad enough ...more

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Poetry can do a lot of things to people. I mean it can improve your imagination. It can take you to new places. It can give you this incredible form o...more

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I think more influential than Emily Dickinson or Coleridge or Wordsworth on my imagination were Warner Brothers, Merrie Melodies, and Loony Tunes cart...more

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There's something very authentic about humor, when you think about it. Anybody can pretend to be serious. But you can't pretend to be funny.

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I have my Poetry 180 project, which I've made my main project. We encourage high schools, because that's really where, for most people, poetry dies of...more

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When I became poet laureate, I was in a slightly uncomfortable position because I think a lot of poetry isn't worth reading.

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I don't think anybody reads a book of poetry front to back. Editors and reviewers only. I don't think anybody else does.

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Listeners are kind of ambushed... if a poem just happens to be said when they're listening to the radio. The listener doesn't have time to deploy what...more

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Often people, when they're confronted with a poem, it's like someone who keep saying 'what is the meaning of this? What is the meaning of this?' And t...more