"Even though I am the daughter of a poet, and my stepmother is also a poet, growing up, I didn't thin..." — Natasha Trethewey

I think the biggest thing that I have to do is to remind people that poetry is there for us to turn to not only to remind us that we're not alone - for example, if we are grieving the loss of someone - but also to help us celebrate our joys. That's why so many people I know who've gotten married will have a poem read at the wedding.

I've been most happy to be an advocate for the kinds of grassroots things that people are doing who care about poetry.

The experience of poetry could bring my mother back to me. Poetry offers a different kind of solace - here on earth.

Dismissals of poetry are nothing new. It's easy to dismiss poetry if one has not read much of it.