For Many Years, I Thought A Poem

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

Everybody Who's Anybody Longs To Be A Tree.

Libraries Are Where It All Begins.

I Was Not Interested In Doing The Plot Of Oedipus In Blackface. I Did Wonder, What Would These People Have Been Like If They Hadn't Been In That Situation?... One Could Look At Oedipus, Or At My Character Augustus, As A Cynical Schemer Who Did Everything Because He Was Hungry For Power. But That's Just Too Easy. I'm More Interested In How Humans Can Embody Conflicting Goals And Emotions.

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