Marilyn Nelson

After you kind of find your footing, sonnets are what comes easiest.

For much of my life - my sister and I have talked about this - when we moved, we just thought the world behind us disappeared, and all of the people, they just didn't exist any more.

Writing in form is a way of developing your thinking - your thinking along with the tradition. In a way, it's not you alone, it's you in partnership.

Back when I was in college, people used to talk about the alienation of the artist, not ever quite fitting in any place.

One of my graduate school professors, to whom I started sending poems when I started writing again after a 10-year hiatus, suggested I prepare a book manuscript which he could send to publishers for me.

Many performance poets seem to believe that yelling a poem makes it comprehensible. They are wrong.