Monday, October 12, 2009

Sanford Pinsker:

What about reading other poets, particularly the "great" ones? Couldn't that become an inhibiting factor?

No. I think such reading is harmless. Particularly the reading of excellent models. I think God has put a safety factor in here. You are unable to read up to a standard greater than the standard of yourself. You may feel a good deal of gusto about a great poem, but that's because you are worthy of it. You just cannot feel that gusto if you're not worthy. So, if you really do feel that a certain poem is that good, you are just about there yourself. I mean, you're that kind of person.

When interviewed by William Stafford, Writing the Australian Crawl, p. 118-119

No comments: