37 Quotes by James Tate

Poetry is everywhere; it just needs editing.

We want to catch the person who did this. We've got to get that person off the streets.

We did make a turn for the better at some point.

Neighbors were saying that dog was very protective of the woman. For some reason, it snapped.

I can't know entirely what's at stake beforehand; you find out as you go. I love to take a poem, for instance, that starts with something seemingly frivolous or inconsequential and then grows in gravity until by the end it's something very serious.

I don't think you can define how you acquire your imagination any more than you can define why one person has a sense of humor and another doesn't. But I certainly would lean to the side that says all those solitary hours of daydreaming were a kind of training for poetry.

I was just sitting on my bed in a dormitory room, and I started writing. The thing that was magic about it was that once you put down one word, you could cross it out. I figured that out right away. I put down 'mountain,' and then I'd go, 'No - 'valley.' That's better.'

Overall, it's been a good week. We're very pleased. I've never seen this many people in the city over seven days, but it went very well because everyone has been friendly and cooperative.

We have a lot of help from federal and local law enforcement, some of whom have worked other Super Bowls, and are coming into town. We're borrowing their expertise.