Reading A Good Poem Can Give Me

For The Past Thirty Years Or So, Much American Poetry Has Been Marked By An Earnestness That Rejects The Comic. This Has Nothing To Do With Seriousness. The Comic Can Be Very Serious. The Trouble With The Earnest Is That It Seeks To Be Commended. It Seeks To Be Praised For Its Intention More Than For What It Is Saying.

One Writes A Poem When One Is So Taken Up By An Emotional Concept That One Is Unable To Remain Silent.

Most Women Are More Into Real Estate Than Sex. They Want To Own You.

I Like It To Be Quiet, And It Usually Occurs In The Morning. There Are Three Or Four Places In My House Where I Can Write And I Like To Keep Moving Around. The Moment I Find Myself Falling Into A Necessary Routine, I Change It. I'd Rather Not Accumulate Superstitions.

Many Of My Poems Try To Use A Comic Element To Reach A Place That Isn't Comic At All. The Comic Element Works As A Surprise. It Is Unexpected And Energizing.