Back Then, I Couldn't Have

Corruption Is Subtle, Just Like The Bible Said. Many Young Poets Have Come To Me And Asked, How Am I Gonna Make It? They Feel, And Often With Considerable Justice, That They Are Being Overlooked While Others With Less Talent Are Out There Making Careers For Themselves. I Always Give The Same Advice. I Say, Do It The Hard Way, And You’ll Always Feel Good About Yourself. You Write Because You Have To, And You Get This Unbelievable Satisfaction From Doing It Well. Try To Live On That As Long As You’re Able.

My Temperament Is Not Geared To That Of A Novelist.

For Sure I Once Thought Of Myself As The Poet Who Would Save The Ordinary From Oblivion.

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

My Earliest Poems Were A Way Of Talking To Somebody. I Suppose To Myself.