When We Are Touched By Something It's

Going To The Library Was The One Place We Got To Go Without Asking For Permission. And They Let Us Choose What We Wanted To Read. It Was A Feeling Of Having A Book Be Mine Entirely.

I Think Reading Shakespeare's Plays When I Was Young Was Extremely Important. He Had The Ability To Make Utter Strangers Come Alive.

I Have A High Guilt Quotient. A Poem Can Go Through As Many As 50 Or 60 Drafts. It Can Take From A Day To Two Years - Or Longer.

I Thought, After The Pulitzer, At Least Nothing Will Surprise Me Quite That Much In My Life. And Another One Happened. It Was Quite Amazing.

It's The Combination Of The Intimate And The Public That I Find So Exciting About Being Poet Laureate.