Quotes

Someone sits at a table or lies on a sofa while staring motionless at a wall or ceiling. Once in a while this person writes down seven lines, only to cross out one of them 15 minutes later, and then another hour passes, during which nothing happens. Who could stand to watch this kind of thing? (In her Nobel lecture, joking about how great movies can be made of the lives of scientists and artists, but poets' lives offer far less promising material)

When I was young I had a moment of believing in the Communist doctrine. I wanted to save the world through Communism. Quite soon I understood that it doesn't work......I wanted to do something good for mankind. Soon I understood that it isn't possible to save mankind. (in an interview with poet and critic Edward Hirsch)