It Takes A Long Time To Publish

I've Had Trouble With Criticism, I Guess. It's Hard To Know What Role Criticism Plays In Either Encouraging Poets Or In Getting Other People To Read Them.

I'm A Writer Who Likes To Be Influenced.

One Day The Nouns Were Clustered In The Street. An Adjective Walked By, With Her Dark Beauty. The Nouns Were Struck, Moved, Changed. The Next Day A Verb Drove Up, And Created The Sentence.

I Thought, 'there Are A Lot Of Poets Who Have The Courage To Look Into The Abyss, But There Are Very Few Who Have The Courage To Look Happiness In The Face And Write About It,' Which Is What I Wanted To Be Able To Do.

It's Enormously Cheering To Get A Good Review By Someone Who Seems To Understand Your Work.