[Catherine Chandler]

Yes, a wonderful interview. I really liked this part:


There’s nothing intrinsically terrible about writing and trying to publish poems. You haven’t murdered anybody or kicked a dog. But you can get depressed if you read a lot of magazines, because of the prevalent mediocrity.

[Mark McDonnell]

Thanks Julie, that was great. I loved this

GREEN: How do you think about spirituality? Would you call yourself religious?

DUNN: No, not at all. It’s essentially getting things right. My assumption is that most of the language that we hear on a given day is meant to deceive us—overtly meant to deceive us. Do you know Paul Éluard’s quote, “There is another world, and it is in this one.” To get at that world, the world that is right here, but which is not seen, is a spiritual act, I think.

and this

GREEN: So being too opaque is a problem?

DUNN: Big problem. And that’s not saying that poems shouldn’t be difficult. Sometimes poems are difficult because our lives are so complex. Our emotional lives are so murky. Just the effort to get at that truth and be clear can make it difficult. But I have no tolerance for difficulty for difficulty’s sake.

[John Isbell]

Thanks Julie et al, those are some great, thought-provoking snippets. I look forward to reading the whole interview soon.

Cheers,
John