“People are going to die," he said flatly. "It's statistics." Then he got up and left the room.” — Kevin Powers Iraq war Copy Share Image
I guess I find the boundaries between poetry and prose to be somewhat permeable. — Kevin Powers Boundaries Copy Share Image
“Through those drooping branches the city sprawled out haphazardly like a drunk on a sidewalk, fallen where he may.” — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“He waited, as if waiting for whichever last shadow would cause evening.” — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“While I slept that summer, the war came to me in my dreams and showed me its sole purpose: to go on,… — Kevin Powers Dreams Copy Share Image
“I didn't want to smile and say thanks. Didn't want to pretend I'd done anything except survive” — Kevin Powers Gratitude Copy Share Image
But I remember being told that the truth does not depend on being believed. — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“Clouds spread out over the Atlantic like soiled linens on an unmade bed.” — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
As human beings, we have the blessing and the curse that we're able to adapt to almost anything. No matter how extreme… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
I understood that 'The Yellow Birds' would be a peculiar representation of the experience of being at war. I intended it to… — Kevin Powers Army Copy Share Image
“And I understood why he came and why I couldn't go, not just then at least, because one never knows if what… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
It's not just: you get off the plane, you're back home, everything's fine. Maybe the physical danger ends, but soldiers are still… — Kevin Powers Danger Copy Share Image
In a lot of ways, the task at hand for any poem is to approach something that defies exactness or definition with… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
I wasn't a good student in high school. I wanted to go to college, but they weren't exactly beating down my door… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“... a new patina whitening the walls with marks of memories, all running together as if the memories themselves aspired to be… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“I would only sit muttering with envy for their broad umbrellas, their dryness, and the sweet, unwounded banality of their lives.” — Kevin Powers Envy Copy Share Image
“And now I know the extent of Sterling's bravery. It was narrowly focused, but it was pure and unadulterated. I twas a… — Kevin Powers Bravery Copy Share Image
I think a diversity of expression can only be good, so I think the more that people write about their experience, use… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“A report had asked us what combat felt like...It's like a car accident. You know? That instant between knowing that it's gonna… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
Noises and smells, those can bring back powerful memories. I remember when I was going to school one Fourth of July, and… — Kevin Powers College Copy Share Image
“To say what happened, the mere facts, the disposition of events in time, would come to seem like a kind of treachery.… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“His English was exceptional. There was a glottal sound in his voice, but it was not harsh. I'd often asked him to… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
I had the feeling that if I encountered anyone they would intuit my disgrace and would judge me instantly. Nothing is more… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
There's something immediate about the experience of reading a poem. It makes sense in my own mind, but I'm trying to figure… — Kevin Powers Giving Copy Share Image
Poetry and prose are of equal importance to me as a reader, and there doesn't seem to be much difference in my… — Kevin Powers Books Copy Share Image
I'm always most interested in writing about things that I don't understand. — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“To continue, I had to see the world with clear eyes, to focus on the essential. We only pay attention to rare… — Kevin Powers Clear eyes Copy Share Image
One of the things my service in Iraq did give me was this freedom from fear of failure or any kind of… — Kevin Powers Expectations Copy Share Image
“I've come to accept that parts of life are constant, that just because something happens on two different days doesn't make it… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
“I smelled the clean house and the wood-frame bed. It was all filler. The noise, the sound, they existed just to take… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
I knew that at least a few of the stars I saw were probably gone already, collapsed into nothing. I felt like… — Kevin Powers Astronomy Copy Share Image
I understand that it's incredibly difficult to watch what's happening on the news every day and not become inured to it. I've… — Kevin Powers Copy Share Image
There are definitely connections between poems, but I wanted each to stand on its own. I guess it goes back to the… — Kevin Powers Books Copy Share Image
