“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

“Poetry is something that’s relevant to everyone’s life, whether they’re habitual readers of poetry or not.” — Tracey K. Smith

“A poem is like a score for the human voice.” — Li-Young Lee

"Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." — Carl Sandburg

“Poetry is language at its most distilled and most powerful.” — Rita Dove

“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words.” — Edgar Allan Poe

“Poetry addresses individuals in their most intimate, private, frightened and elated moments . . . because it comes closer than any other art form to addressing what cannot be said.” — W.S. Merwin

“A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.” ― W.H. Auden

“Poems are a hotline to our hearts, and we forget this emotional power at our peril.” — Andrew Motion

“When power corrupts, poetry cleanses.” — John F. Kennedy