I Tell Students They Will Know They

Fiction Is About Intimacy With Characters, Events, Places.

In The Late 60s And Early 70s, I Did Get Interested In Voices, And In Narration And Embodying The Voice, Making The Poem Sound Like A Real Person Talking.

A Lot Of My Students Are Asian-american, And It Has Been Thrilling To Watch Them Break Through The Stereotypes Into Something Alive And Surprising.

I Don't Think American Poetry Has Gotten Any Better In The Past 35 Years. Oddly Enough, Creative Writing Programs Seem To Have Been Good For Fiction, And I Would Not Have Predicted That.

I Encourage Students To Pursue An Idea Far Enough So They Can See What The Cliches And Stereotypes Are. Only Then Do They Begin To Hit Pay Dirt.