Tuesday, 18 February 2020

Chris Banks : part five

What poets changed the way you thought about writing?

The first really important poet to me was the Canadian poet Gwendolyn MacEwen whose lyric gifts were extraordinary. I remember taking a record out from the University of Guelph library in 1989 and listening to her read poems after she had died. It was a revelation. Next, I would say Patrick Lane and Philip Levine were touchstones for my early writing. Later came the poets Larry Levis, Dave Smith, Mark Strand, Philip Schultz, and Hayden Carruth. The poets I have been reading recently with great interest would be Kim Addonizio, Jack Gilbert, Bob Hicok, Dean Young and Dobby Gibson.

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