I think New York is working its way into my poems. It…

The poet can only write the poems; it takes the reader to complete the meaning.

— Nikki Giovanni

“Reading American photographs is also a way of reading the past-not just the scenes recorded and the faces immobilized into permanent images, but the…

— Alan Trachtenberg

I grew up reading American history.

— Jake Auchincloss

But really, it was reading that led me to writing. And in particular, reading the American classics like Twain who taught me at an…

— Russell Banks

...but I preferred reading the American landscape as we went along. Every bump, rise, and stretch in it mystified my longing.

— Jack Kerouac

“Mr Rutger cornet de Groot. Never read any American poetry or any other foreign poetry, which is why he always mentions 2 poets as…

— Martinus Hendrikus Benders

Probably the high-watermark of [Bob] Dylan's career came after he plugged in his guitar ("Judas!" one fan shouted during a concert) and exploded American…

— Jay Michaelson

American poetry, like American painting, is always personal with an emphasis on the individuality of the poet.

— Diane Wakoski

Distinctly American poetry is usually written in the context of one's geographic landscape, sometimes out of one's cultural myths, and often with reference to…

— Diane Wakoski

American poetry is always about defining oneself individually,claiming one's right to be different and often to break taboos.

— Diane Wakoski

Mandelstam is the sort of poet who comes along very, very rarely. Even the two Russian poets whose work is often linked with his…

— Christian Wiman

I think the best American poetry is the poetry that utilizes the resources of poetry rather than exploits the defects or triumphs of the…

— Mark Strand

From reading a previous answer, you know that I consider all those aspects to be part of American cultural myth and thus they figure…

— Diane Wakoski

Kerouac: You're ruining American poetry, O'Hara. O'Hara: That's more than you ever did for it, Kerouac

— Frank O'Hara

I'm educating myself more about world poetry. I know a lot about contemporary American poetry, so I felt I needed to learn more about…

— Allison Joseph