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I think when kids just see well-crafted poetry, it's just obtuse to them. It's hard to relate to.

Children seem naturally drawn to poetry - it's some combination of the rhyme, rhythm, and the words themselves.

It is my belief that many who think they dislike poetry are really poetical in their natures and are indebted to it, more than they imagine, for the success they may have achieved, even in practical pursuits, and for the enjoyment their lives have afforded them.

I've been surprised to learn how many people love poetry. It's beautiful to see that people want poetry in their lives.

The attitude that poetry should not be analyzed is prevalent among many who consider themselves experts on children's literature. But I suspected that kids like to look closely at things and figure out what makes them go.

I think many people love poetry who don't know they love it. People are sometimes afraid of poetry, or they've been introduced to poetry that doesn't speak to them.

Poetry is one of the few nasty childhood habits I've managed to grow out of.

People think of poetry as a school subject... Poetry is very frustrating to students because they don't have a taste for ambiguity, for one thing. That gives them a poetry hangover.

Poetry is an orphan of silence. The words never quite equal the experience behind them.

Criticism starts - it has to start - with a real passion for reading. It can come in adolescence, even in your twenties, but you must fall in love with poems.