I write what's given me to write.

225

I was eighteen or nineteen years old, and I'd get these genius ideas for novels and try to finish then in three or four days without going to sleep.

223

It would be nice to stumble onto one of those great projects so I could stay busy right through my dotage, but I'm not counting on it.

185

But I'm too old to be written about as a young poet.

173

Meet some people who care about poetry the way you do. You'll have that readership. Keep going until you know you're doing work that's worthy. And then see what happens. That's my advice.

145

I started listening to music when I wrote when I had three sons at home.

142

Back then, I couldn't have left a poem a year and gone back to it.

120

My father's life seemed and still seems utterly mysterious to me. He came alone to the States from Russia at age eleven.

106

My mother carried on and supported us; her ambition had been to write poetry and songs.

91