October 2010
What kind of poetry do you write? Who are some of your favorite poets?
Both lyrical & narrative in a contemporary vein, also “flexible” formal verse that doesn’t adhere to strict meter or rhyme schemes.
Favorite poets … hmmmm, let’s see. There are really too many to list all here. The older, established guard, who have influenced & shaped my poetic sensibilities, include Jack Gilbert, Wallace Stevens, Robert Penn Warren, James Dickey, Mark Strand, Charles Wright, Larry Levis, Charles Simic, Dave Smith, Ralph Angel, Alberto Rios, Mary Oliver, Elizabeth Bishop, Kay Ryan, Ellen Bryant Voigt, Kate Daniels, Jane Hirschfield, Rhina P. Espaillat, Brigit Pegeen Kelly, Lynn Emanuel, Denis Johnson, Michael Burkard, Norman Dubie, Tess Gallagher, David St. John, Philip Levine, Sherod Santos, Len Roberts, Rodney Jones, Andrew Hudgins, David Bottoms, B.H. Fairchild, Michael Chitwood, Mark Jarman, Stephen Dunn, Richard Hugo, Theodore Roethke, James Wright, Pablo Neruda, Rainer Maria Rilke, and on & on.
The newer, favorite voices include Beckian Fritz Goldberg, Carol Quinn, Stephanie Brown, Susan Rich, Carrie Fountain, Natasha Trethewey, Katie Ford, Atsuro Riley, Allen Braden, Paul Guest, Davis McComb, James Kimbrell, Bob Hicok, Joshua Beckman, Nick Flynn, Franz Wright, Steve Scafidi, and Kevin Young. —apr
Listen
Poem: “Venus’-flytraps” by Yusef Komunyakaa
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE INANIMATE OBJECT?
Fishing line … for the surprises it finds. The same can be said for the poetic line. —apr
