You litter poems with too much learning when you're younger.

Looking back, fire images have been constant in my poetry. As a boy, it was my job to light the fire each morning, and I remember the celebratory bonfires at the end of the war. It was from staring into fire that I began my first poetry.

I need to look back on my poetic ventures, make sense of them as a whole, and move forward... and to experiment without external demands.

It is always better to write for the whole of society than for the poetry-reading public.

For Jews, the paradigmatic convert is the biblical Ruth, who sought not only a new relationship with God but also a new nationality.

We're only here to love God and each other. I'm not saying I've never gotten angry at anyone. I do. But you've got to forgive and move on.

I thank God that I had such an amazing father who was my trainer as well.

We should all be able to have faith that our governments are working in our best interests - and if they aren't, then they should be challenged and held to account.