The War Tried To Kill Us In

There's Something Immediate About The Experience Of Reading A Poem - Whether It's The Music Or Some Other Element Of It - That Just Seems To Access Another Part Of The Brain. You Know, Charles Olson Talks About This Transfer Of Energy That Happens Between The Writer And The Reader Of The Poem. I Guess There's Something Essential To Me About Acknowledging Upfront The Immensity Of It - The Difficulty Of It - And Even Allowing That To Be The Subject.

Michael Koryta's Those Who Wish Me Dead Is An Absolutely Thrilling Read. I Read Most Of It With My Breath Held, Occasionally Exhaling To Ask Myself, 'what Will Happen Next?' I Highly Recommend It.

There Are Definitely Connections Between Poems, But I Wanted Each To Stand On Its Own. I Guess It Goes Back To The Idea Of Trying To Zoom In And Out, And To Modulate, So There Are Different Ways Of Looking At Any Experience For The Reader. Even Having Short Poems And Long Poems - There Has To Be Some Kind Of Variation In The Experience Of Reading As A Whole.

There Is A Sharp Distinction Between What Is Remembered, What Is Told And What Is True.

I Had The Feeling That If I Encountered Anyone They Would Intuit My Disgrace And Would Judge Me Instantly. Nothing Is More Isolating Than Having A Particular History. At Least That's What I Thought. Now I Know: All Pain Is The Same. Only The Details Are Different.