“Once a poem is made available to the public, the right of interpretation belongs to the reader.” — Sylvia Plath

“Poems are where voices can join together and sing in a voice more powerful than one. Poems mark a trail of identities; poems laid end to end are a map of the human voice.” — Elizabeth Alexander

“To be a poet is a condition, not a profession.” — Robert Frost

“Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” — Allen Ginsberg

“Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.” — Boris Pasternak

“Poetry is nuclear energy squeezed into lines.” — Gülten Akın

“The poet doesn’t invent. He listens.” — Jean Cocteau

“Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting that speaks.” — Plutarch

“Poetry is capable of this magic, or it can really enchant you very quickly and take you to a different place suddenly, or introduce you to deep feeling just for a moment. And … I love that.” — Rich Levy