I Never Thought Of Myself As A

I've Had Trouble With Criticism, I Guess. It's Hard To Know What Role Criticism Plays In Either Encouraging Poets Or In Getting Other People To Read Them.

I Love Painting And Music, Of Course. I Don't Know Nearly As Much About Them As I Know About Poetry. I've Certainly Been Influenced By Fiction. I Was Overwhelmed By War And Peace When I Read It, And I Didn't Read It Until I Was In My Late 20s.

I'm A Writer Who Likes To Be Influenced.

Poetry, Which Is Written While No One Is Looking, Is Meant To Be Looked At For All Time.

Picasso Said Once When Being Interviewed That One Should Not Be One's Own Connoisseur.