I don't think the creative writing industry has helped American poetry.

I learned to impersonate the kind of person that talks about poetry. It comes from teaching, I think.

I love to create interesting textures with language. You can do it as long as it seems like a discovery.

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 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.

Distance not only gives nostalgia, but perspective, and maybe objectivity.

The Black Mountain poet I like most is the early Creeley. Those early poems seem very lyrical and very traditional, with a lot of voice and character.