Sam Hamill

“Poetry transcends the nation-state. Poetry transcends government. It brings the traditional concept of power to its knees. I have always believed poetry to be an eternal conversation in which the ancient poets remain contemporary, a conversation inviting us into other languages and cultures even as poetry transcends language and culture, returning us again and again to primal rhythms and sounds.”

“Don’t tell me about the seasons in the East, don’t talk to meabout eternal California summer.It’s enough to havea few days nakedamong three hundred kinds of rain.”