What do you find most difficult about writing poetry?
My ninth book is now under contract. And each book is harder to write than the previous one because I am always trying to change my voice, my style, my interests. I’m afraid of being predictable. I don’t want a reader to pick up my next book, wrinkle her nose, and say, oh, him again? But I’m not sure how many modes and voices I have in me, not sure how long I can go on without being repetitive. Usually, I try to write something that isn’t poetry between my poetry books as a way of cleaning out my mind. For a while, I wrote mystery stories—whodunits—which I published here and there in magazines and anthologies poetry readers weren’t likely to encounter. It was refreshing to write those, to write with the purpose of entertaining and not feel pressure to be meaningful. And then, after a while, I’d return to poetry with new concerns and, I hope, a somewhat different voice.
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