There is this tendency to think that if you could only find the magic way, then you could become a poet. "Tell me how to become a poet. Tell me what to do." . . . What makes you a poet is a gift for language, an ability to see into the heart of things, and an ability to deal with important unconscious material. When all these things come together, you're a poet. But there isn't one little gimmick that makes you a poet. There isn't any formula for it.
There is this tendency to ...
Quotes from the same author
You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.
My mother wanted me to be her wings, to fly as she never quite had the courage to do. I love her for that. I love the fact that she wanted to give birth to her own wings.
We don't have a clear path forward, and that's been the case for feminism since the 18th century, when the idea of the rights of women actually began.
I don't cook. My mother didn't cook. My daughter doesn't cook.
All my forebears worked for a living. My grandfather painted portraits. My mother too. My aunt painted seascapes.