I owe a debt of gratitude to R.W. for encouraging my Dante work. It is no exaggeration to say that his thumbs up of my translation of a sonnet from the Vita Nova, mediated by Tim Murphy right here at the Sphere about 8 or 9 years ago, played a big part in my finding the cojones to translate the whole book. And I went on to translate a lot more of Dante. Wilbur didn't have to share that blessing, but he did. That takes a special kind of man and poet.
I love many of his poems and don't feel the least bit of a need to imitate him. For me, the human lesson and the lesson of care in craft are important and lasting.
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