Thursday, 18 July 2019

Mary J. Oliver : part four

What do you feel poetry can accomplish that other forms can’t?

My book started off as research, nothing more. As it developed and I became obsessed, it grew into a rambling biography that happened to contain a few poems. No one in their right mind will be as interested in this as I am, I decided. And a poet (Penelope Shuttle) suggested that I recast most of it as poetry, as she felt the poems worked well. The result is a short, beautiful objet (I think), like a jewel; rich, condensed, precise. It took years and years to achieve this. And of course, it's a million miles from perfect. But one day soon the publisher will print it and I won't be able to fiddle-arse around with it any more. 

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