I was influenced by surrealist poetry and painting as were thousands of other people, and it seems to me to have become a part of the way I write, but its not. – 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

As for political poetry, as its usually defined, it seems theres very little good political poetry. – Kenneth Koch