The thing I enjoyed most were visits from children. They did not want public office.

If I do a poetry reading I want people to walk out and say they feel better for having been there - not because you've done a comedy performance but because you're talking about your father dying or having young children things that touch your soul.

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

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

Frankly writing poetry for children is plain old fun and I consider myself blessed to have such a delightful career.

I want to write a book of poetry as well as children's stories.

Children can write poetry and then unless they're poets they stop when reach puberty.

I think poetry can help children deal with the other subjects on the curriculum by enabling them to see a subject in a new way.

Instead of trying to come up and pontificate on what literature is you need to talk with children to teachers and make sure they get poetry in the curriculum early.

When you're going through something whether it's a wonderful thing like having a child or a sad thing like losing somebody you often feel like 'Oh my God I'm so overwhelmed I'm dealing with this huge thing on my own.' In fact poetry's a nice reminder that no everybody goes through it. These are universal experiences.