In The Best Fiction, The

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.

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

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

A Lot Of My Students Are Asian-american, And It Has Been Thrilling To Watch Them Break Through The Stereotypes Into Something Alive And Surprising.

Some People Swear By Writing Courses, But Whether It Really Helps American Poetry, I Have Doubts.