I think the culture can absorb so many people writing poetry and trying to earn their living in poetry.

I think the culture can absorb so many people writing poetry and trying to earn their living in poetry.

Works of art imitate and provoke other works of art, the process is the source of art itself.

One, something emotional has to be at stake. There has to be something important for me that I'm writing about. And then two, I have to have a formal idea. Something has to be being worked out in poetry.

You can seek clarity, you can seek warmth, you can try to make something for lasting. You can pack something in salt so that it's well made and you can hope that it outlasts time. But, ultimately that's not up to you.

And it was the title August 13th for most of the way and then near the end, sometime in the process, I got the idea that maybe that would be a somewhat bland title and I got the idea for wild gratitude, which I'm very proud of as a title. So, I think it works best when you find it in the process.

I would keep in mind to a young poet that you are entering into something that is very important, that has always been important in terms of human concerns.