A Little about the Process

When I am writing or revising a poem, I must read it out loud, from start to finish, over and over again. 

It's something like smoothing out the creases in a piece of fabric. You could, possibly, start in the middle, especially if that's the crimped-up part. But really, moving my hand to chase a wrinkle from one end of the the thing to the other, repeatedly, until the whole expanse is right, is what I'm talking about here. 

I speak very quietly, mostly, and often very quickly. But I have to hear all the sounds and all the beats and how they speak to one another, re-starting and re-starting after each tweak. That's just my method. Maybe others do it this way. I don't know. But it's how I work, and it works for me.