You use the past. You do not worship it – you consult
it. And one of the obligations to the poetry . . . you are obliged
not just to keep it alive, but to change it and contribute to it
and adapt it and keep it alive by making it new.
~ Robert Pinsky
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Quoted from John O'Rourke, "Robert Pinsky, America's Ambassador for Poetry, Retiring from Teaching After 36 Years at BU, More Than 1,000 Students" in BU Today, April 29, 2025 (Online)
Robert Pinsky, Poet, Translator, Nonfiction Writer; U.S. Poet Laureate Consultant in Poetry to Library of Congress, 1997-2000; William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor and Director, Creative Writing Program, Boston University (Retired, 2025); Jazz Vocalist of Poetry
Favorite Poem Project, BU Center for the Humanities