People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I found that immensely valuable.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
It's the combination of the intimate and the public that I find so exciting about being poet laureate.
Mostly, when I travel, I want to represent my own work well and let others know how I feel about poetry being an important part of life.
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.
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.
When I became poet laureate, I was in a slightly uncomfortable position because I think a lot of poetry isn't worth reading.
As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.
I want to be a poet and have a chance to explore that and let people know what's really on my mind.
I was appointed Poet Laureate. It came totally out of the blue because most Poet Laureates had been considerably older than I. It was not something that I even had begun to dream about!
On a practical level, poetry isn't something anybody has really made a great living at. I might sell some books and, once in a while, someone might pay to hear me read.
I feel very connected to poets across the country.
No opposing quotes found.