[Susan McLean]

I freely admit to using dictionaries, both rhyming and regular, thesauri, and anything else that will help me. Knowing what all the options are doesn't reduce the role of judgment in choosing exactly the right word for the context. I'm currently engaged in translating the poetry of Catullus from Latin into English metrical verse, which is fiendishly hard because I am trying to be accurate and rhyme and keep the meter regular. When I am writing my own poetry, I have a bit more leeway. But frankly, I love words, and I think most poets do too. I read dictionaries the way cooks read cookbooks. So many words, so little time.