When I became poet laureate, I was in a slightly uncomfortable position because I think a lot of poetry isn't worth reading.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
It's the combination of the intimate and the public that I find so exciting about being poet laureate.
I have to admit that I had a lot of problems with 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.
I'm uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem.
Pretty much the day I stopped being laureate, the poems that had been few and far between came back to me, like birds in the evening nesting in a tree.
I have never considered myself a poet. I have no interest in poetic artistry.
I'm a failed poet. Reading poetry helps me to see the world differently, and I try to infuse my prose with figurative language, which goes against the trend in fiction.
I don't think it's always good to read lots of poetry.
When I was in college, I wrote poetry very seriously, and then once I had started writing short stories, I didn't go back to poetry, partially because I felt like I understood how incredibly difficult it was.
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.