I love painting and music, of course. I dont know nearly as much about them as I know about poetry. Ive certainly been influenced by fiction. I was overwhelmed by War and Peace when I read it, and I didnt read it until I was in my late 20s. – Kenneth Koch
Certainly, it seems true enough that theres a good deal of irony in the world… I mean, if you live in a world full of politicians and advertising, theres obviously a lot of deception. – Kenneth Koch
As for political poetry, as its usually defined, it seems theres very little good political poetry. – Kenneth Koch
I wonder if I ever thought of an ideal reader… I guess when I was in my 20s and in New York and maybe even in my early 30s, I would write for my wife Janice… mainly for my poet friends and my wife, who was very smart about poetry. – Kenneth Koch
At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer, if it ever reach us, it must spring up amongst us. It cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot, we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen, we must live through all time, or die by suicide. – Abraham Lincoln