The Older I Get, The More I

So I Did Quit Coffee And I Did Quit Smoking. But I Haven't Managed That With Drinking!

The Decision For Me Was Whether To Have 'the Father' Be A Book That Told A Story - From The Point Of View Of This Speaker, The Daughter - Without, As In The Earlier Books, Then Having A Section On Something Else And A Section On Something Else.

Well, 'the Wellspring' Was Written From 1983 To 1986. And It Had A Section In The Beginning That Was Poems That Began From Others' Experience.

Poems Come From Ordinary Experiences And Objects, I Think. Out Of Memory - A Dress I Lent My Daughter On Her Way Back To College; A Newspaper Photograph Of War; A Breast Self-exam; The Tooth Fairy; Calvinist Parents Who Beat Up Their Children; A Gesture Of Love; Seeing Oneself Naked Over Age 50 In A Set Of Bright Hotel Bathroom Mirrors.

Many Poets Write Books. They'll Tell You: Well, I've Got My Next Book, But There Are Two Poems I Need To Write, One About X, One About Y. This Is A Wonder To Me.