It Was Less A Literary Thing Than

Part Of What We Love About Poetry Is The Fact That It Seems Ancient, That It Has An Authority Of Ancient Language And Ancient Form, And That It's Timeless, That It Reaches Back.

One Of The Most Powerful Devices Of Poetry Is The Use Of Distortions. You Can Go From Talking About The Way A Minute Passes To The Way A Century Passes, Or A Lifetime.

Teaching Writing Over The Years Intrudes On Your Own Writing In Important Ways, Taking Away Some Of The Excitement Of Poetry.

I Have Taught Students From The New York City Area So Long I Have A Special Affinity And Rapport With Them. It Surprises Me Sometimes That There Are Students From Anywhere Else.

One Of The Biggest Changes That Ever Occurred In My Life Was Going From The Isolation Of Working Part-time As A House Painter In Henderson County, To Cornell, Where Everybody Was A Literary Person.