Quotes & Sources The Fairfield Review,An On-line Literary Magazine for the Global Community.
“Poems ought to start in clarity and end in mystery.”
“Be simple so you can be complex later.”
“Keep distinct what should be clear, what should be mysterious. Know which cards to turn over, which to leave face down.”
“Don’t simplify what should remain mysterious; don’t cloud something that should be clear.”
“Start out by engaging the reader on a simple level.”
“Every poem, for me, has to have a little travel in it—to end up somewhere else. The stimulation for me is to follow the trail and see where it leads.”
“Give the poem an occasion for its own beginning.”
“Every poem has two subjects: a triggering subject and a generating subject (Hugo). Like a booster rocket that drops away.”
“Distraction when writing is often a message, telling you where you should be going. ... Follow the distraction.”
“I’m not solving a problem in craft. I’m just trying to engage the reader in the beginning and take him along with me.”
“Often the ending is too huge for the poem. The poem is often the middle. The first few stanzas are a gift. All the scribbling and fretting are at the end."
--Billy Collins, "Conversation on Craft", Dodge Poetry Festival, September 21, 2002.
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