Teaching Writing Over The Years

The Decision To Write In Prose Instead Of Poetry Is Made More By The Readers Than By Writers. Almost No One Is Interested In Reading Narrative In Verse.

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.

The Best Books Of Our Times Have Included The Three Mature Volumes Of Philip Larkin. They're Very Short Books Of Poems, And Very Carefully Arranged.

Poetry, Almost By Definition, Calls Attention To Its Language And Form.

If A Poem Is Not Memorable, There's Probably Something Wrong. One Of The Problems Of Free Verse Is That Much Of The Free Verse Poetry Is Not Memorable.