If We Really Want To Be Full

Being Poet Laureate Made Me Realize I Was Capable Of A Larger Voice. There Is A More Public Utterance I Can Make As A Poet.

To Me, A Poem Is Almost Like Someone Whispering To Another Person, Or You Hear The Whispering In Your Head. I Hope With My Own Poems That The Reader Feels A Connection, Soul To Soul, That'll Help Us All Feel A Little Less Alone On The Planet. And It Does Have The Power To Direct Change. A Writer Can Make The Word 'dark' Be Something Positive. You Can Relieve A Word Like 'hysterical' Of Its Misogynistic Implications. You Can Make The Language Your Own. That's What Poetry Is About.

I Loved To Write When I Was A Child. I Wrote, But I Always Thought It Was Something That You Did As A Child, Then You Put Away Childish Things.

I Didn't Know Writers Could Be Real Live People, Because I Never Knew Any Writers.

There Are Distinct Duties Of A Poet Laureate. I Plan A Reading Series At The Library Of Congress And Advise The Librarian. The Rest Is How I Want To Promote Poetry