Table of Contents
In a Word, a World 3
My American Scrawl 4
Hold Still, Lion 5
A Plague of Poets 6
The Book That Jane Wrote: Midnights 7
Nuptials & Violence 8
Stripe for Stripe 9
Poems are my building projects 17
Jean Valentine, Abridged 18
Purgatorio 19
In a Word 20
Listening to John's Is Music 21
A Reader for Every Writer 27
The Book That Jane Wrote 28
Hold Still 29
Talking Pictures 30
Concerning Why Poetry Offers a Better Deal Than the World's Biggest Retailer 31
Jean Valentine 41
Poetry was. Poetry is. Poetry will be 42
Bookburn 42
Spring & All 43
In a Word 44
Spring & All 45
The not knowing whether what you've set down is any goad 47
Hold Still 48
Hold Still 50
Rene Char asked, What can we do 51
Spring & All 52
Nuptials & Violence 53
The Book That Jane Wrote 54
Purgatorio 55
During the Composition of Rising, Falling, Hovering 57
Pictures Never Taken hut Received 61
On a wall in Whitechapel 62
In a Word 63
Jean Valentine 64
Spring & All 65
Are we still seers and dreamers 67
The Book We Hold in Common 68
The Book That Brenda Wrote: Seasonal Works with Letters On Fire 69
My American Scrawl 70
I remain haunted 71
In a Word 72
Nuptials it Violence 73
During the Composition of Rising, Falling, Hovering 74
Hold Still 79
If one were to try to describe the heed that poetry requires 80
Of Those Who Can Afford to Be Gentle 82
In a Word 86
Nuptials & Violence 87
The old business about form & content 88
In Another Book That Brenda Wrote: Practical Water 89
Of Those Who Can Afford to Be Gentle 90
I went to hear a young man talk 96
Spring & All 97
The Book That Brenda Wrote 98
Hold Still 100
Jean Valentine 101
Spring & All 102
Jean Valentine 103
The Orchidaceous Ms. toy, the Amaranth, the Octopus 104
If the nineteenth century novel cannot be bested 107
"The Poem" 108
Michael Ondaatje's "Driving with Dominic…" 109
Jean Valentine 112
Spring & All 114
Hold Still 115
Jean Valentine 116
¿Le Gusta Este Jardín… 118
In a Word 122
Poet Gale Nelson told me his all-time favorite blurb 123
Questionnaire in January 124
Grandma Wright completed fourth grade 131
End Sheet 131
Among the Poetry Books Quoted 133
About the Author 135
