"Writing, I crushed an insect with my nail And thought nothing at all. A bit of wing Caught my eye then, a gossamer so…"

"A leg I noticed next, fine as a mote, "And on this frail eyelash he walked," I said, "And climbed and walked like any…"

"Then in my heart a fear Cried out, "A life — why, beautiful, why dead!" It was a mite that held itself most dear, So …"

"As a third generation American I grew up with the obsessive idea of personal liberty which engrosses all Americans ex…"

"The public has an unusual relationship to the poet: It doesn't even know that he is there."

"Words like “spokesman” and “touchstone” took me completely by surprise. For very real reasons. Not only had I been ou…"

"I had never met a poet in my life before winning the Pulitzer in 1945. Well, that’s not strictly true; when I went to…"

"I always had this feeling — I’ve heard other Jews say — that when you can’t find any other explanation for Jews, you …"

"Whitman to me is the most fascinating of American poets. Whitman started to write the great poetry from scratch after…"

"I was at Notre Dame just a few years ago, and one of the professors there said to me, “You don’t know what effect In …"