“I'm glad I understand that while language is a gift, listening is a responsibility. (U.S. poet and writer, 1943- )”

“If you're a writer, the answer to everything is yes.”

“Mistakes are a fact of life: It is the response to the error that counts.”

“I want to be clear about this. If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy.”

“Writers don't write from experience, although many are hesitant to admit that they don't. ...If you wrote from experience, you'd get maybe one book, maybe three poems. Writers write from empathy.”

“If you don't understand yourself you don't understand anybody else.”

“And you will understand all too soonThat you, my children of battle, are your heroes”