I'm Seventy-one Now, So It's Hard To

My Mother Carried On And Supported Us; Her Ambition Had Been To Write Poetry And Songs.

I Was Very Lucky To Have A Mother Who Encouraged Me To Become A Poet.

I Have A Sense That Many Americans, Especially Those Like Me With European Or Foreign Parents, Feel They Have To Invent Their Families Just As They Have To Invent Themselves.

Back Then, I Couldn't Have Left A Poem A Year And Gone Back To It.

The Irony Is, Going To Work Every Day Became The Subject Of Probably My Best Poetry.