He sort of had a survivor's guilt, ... All of his high school friends were still in Martins Ferry and not leading the most exciting lives. And he got out, and, I think, always felt guilty.

It was peaceful, ... It was very different than anything he knew. I think that appealed to him.

I wanted him to stop, ... I tried not to nag. What good does it do? It just causes dissension.

I think he was astonished he won it, ... I wasn't, of course. He considered himself a minor poet, not a major poet.

Someone once asked him, 'How many poets do you know there?' ... He said, 'Thank God, none.'

He said, 'I can't teach someone how to write,' ... He just thought if you were a poet, you wrote poetry.

He loved this country, ... But he despaired for it.

He was delighted, ... He thought you had to be a rock star or film star to be recognized.

From the letters, people would certainly learn more about how a poem is made, ... They may learn more about iambic pentameter than they ever wished.

I would encourage the commission to weigh heavily the First Amendment rights that we have, because that's really the fundamental thing: free speech, the ability to protest, legitimate dissent in a democracy.