Books Quote by Robert Hass

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

— Robert Hass

I am a self-appointed ambassador for poetry.

— Anne Waldman

Anybody who instantly goes from being a poet and a graduate student to being a public figure has to be in a state of…

— Erica Jong

I think I am a creative person, but I'm slightly more kind of visionary...I prefer to guide writers, than to claim to be one…

— Rowan Atkinson

I want to be the best advocate and promoter for poetry that I can be.

— Natasha Trethewey

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

My role in society, or any artist's or poet's role, is to try and express what we all feel. Not to tell people how…

— John Lennon

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

That has always seemed to me one of the stranger aspects of literary fame: you prove your competence as a writer and an inventor…

— J. M. Coetzee

My focus is on the reader and that the poet's job is not to inspire himself or herself. The poet's job is to inspire…

— Edward Hirsch

I wanted to reimagine the role, in a way that was respectful of its traditional responsibilities but made them part of a wider pattern…

— Andrew Motion

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