We Have A Lot Of

Philip Larkin Has A Tough Honesty And Sense Of Humor That I Find Irresistible, As A Contemporary Poet.

I Don't Think Poetry Is Something That Can Be Taught. We Can Encourage Young Writers, But What You Can't Teach Them Is The Very Essence Of Poetry.

Our Most Famous Writers Are Faulkner And Eudora Welty And Flannery O'connor. It Would Make Sense That The Poetry Would Reflect Some Of Those Same Values, Some Of The Same Techniques.

One Of The Most Powerful Devices Is To Distort Time, To Go From Human Time To Atomic Time, Geologic Time. Sometimes You Can Actually Accomplish That, With One Unexpected Word Choice.

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.