I would love to be the poet laureate of Coney Island.

I love Coney Island. I saw all different kinds of people - Russian, Italian, black, Puerto Rican, rich people in Sea Gate and in…

— Stephon Marbury

Yes, I was born in Coney Island. The Holy Land.

— Arlo Guthrie

As poet laureate, I was asked to be a spokesman for literature.

— Robert Hass

I certainly was surprised to be named Poet Laureate of this far-out city on the left side of the world, and I gratefully accept,…

— Lawrence Ferlinghetti

People write me from all over the country, asking me, and sometimes even telling me, what they think a poet laureate should do. I…

— Rita Dove

“So I don’t think I’ll make Poet Laureate, but I swear I’m not twisted and bitter, If finely-wrought talents don’t weigh in the balance,…

— Rosy Cole

“You know what I love about you? You can go from cussing sailor to poet laureate in three seconds without batting an eyelash. It's…

— Georgina Guthrie

Being Poet Laureate made me realize I was capable of a larger voice. There is a more public utterance I can make as a…

— Rita Dove

If you would get money as a writer or lecturer, you must be popular, which is to go down perpendicularly… You are paid for…

— Henry David Thoreau

Ted Hughes has been appointed poet laureate to succeed Sir John Betjeman, which is a bit like appointing a grim young crow to replace…

— Philip Howard, 20th Earl of Arundel

The poet laureate of England talked about murdering Jews on the West Bank.

— Steven T. Katz

It is a tremendous honor to be named poet laureate, but one that I find humbling as well, because it's the kind of thing…

— Natasha Trethewey

I've written on public matters, but I don't understand how anyone could tout me as a possible poet laureate when I wrote a poem…

— Tony Harrison

There are distinct duties of a poet laureate. I plan a reading series at the Library of Congress and advise the librarian. The rest…

— Rita Dove

I'm a student at Harvard University, and currently work as the United States Youth Poet Laureate, a community organizer, and an activist.

— Amanda Gorman