The Black Mountain Poet I

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.

In The Later Books I Am Much More At Home In The Use Of Language To Describe Things. I Had Never Thought Of That Until A Critic Pointed That Out.

A Poem In Form Still Has To Have Voice, Gesture, A Sense Of Discovery, A Metaphoric Connection, As Any Poetry Does.

I Tell Students They Will Know They Are Getting Somewhere When A Scene Is So Painful They Can Just Barely Bring Themselves To Write About It. A Writer Has To Draw Blood.

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.