NEW YORK: Poetry Society of America has honored Paul Simon during a dinner benefit at the New York Botanical Garden.

Simon and longtime poetry editor Alice Quinn were the guests of honor, their careers both lasting for decades and making them revered names among lovers of words.

Simon, 77, has retired from touring and his voice sounded strained at first. But he grew stronger, and even danced a little, as he ran through such favorites as “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard” and “The Boxer,” asking the audience to join in on the chorus of “Lie-La-Lie” as a small backing group added touches of jazz and Cajun music.

Quinn has championed Sharon Olds, Edward Hirsch and countless other poets as an adjunct professor at Columbia University, the poetry editor at The New Yorker (from 1987 to 2007) and an editor at Alfred A. Knopf. She is stepping down as executive editor of the poetry society, where she has served since 2001. She was introduced by Pulitzer Prize winner and U.S. poet laureate Tracy K. Smith, who praised her contributions to “the inner life across this country and beyond.”