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I don't think I've ever read poetry, ever. I'm not really book-smart.

For whatever reason, people, including very well-educated people or people otherwise interested in reading, do not read poetry.

They say poets write mostly for themselves; if anyone else likes it, well and good, if not, it doesn't matter; certainly, not to me.

One can't write for all readers. A poet cannot write for people who don't like poetry.

I don't think it's always good to read lots of poetry.

I find great consolation in having a lot of poetry books around. I believe that writing poetry and reading it are deeply intertwined. I've always delighted in the company of the poets I've read.

I don't think I've ever read poetry, ever.

I love poetry; it's my primary literary interest, and I suppose the kind of reading you do when you are reading poems - close reading - can carry over into how you read other things.

And there are a lot more people reading poetry, but there are not so many people reading an individual poet.

Poetry always runs away from you - it's very difficult to grasp it, and every time you read it, depending on your conditions, you will have a different grasp of it. Whereas with a novel, once you have read it, you have grasped it.