The country that I was coming from, the island I was in, hadn't been written about, really. So I thought that I virtually had it all to myself, including the language that was spoken there, which was a French Creole, and a landscape that is not recorded, really, and the people.

I have no curiosity. I'm an island boy.

There's always a need at a critical time for poetry.

What is taught in schools generally in the West Indies is that if something is your thing, it's better than anybody else's because it's yours. It's extremely provincial and also damaging. You prevent people from learning things. The biggest absurdity would be, 'Don't read Shakespeare because he was white.'

I know I'm not supposed to have any opinions about politics, because I'm famous.

Democracy is something you have to participate in.

After 20 years in Congress, I still believe that smaller government and lower taxes are the most effective economic policies.

I'm in the government to make sure that if there's an opportunity to make peace, it won't be missed.