“While modern creative writing programs seek to develop the talents of maturing writers, essential information about the initiation, development and processes of the writing craft can be discovered in the early memories of established writers—material that has not usually been available in the classroom,” writes poet and editor Susan Terris in the introduction to this unique anthology of essays and interviews of acclaimed poets, including Denise Duhamel, Rafael Jesús González, Jane Hirshfield, Arthur Sze, and Lynne Thompson. The twenty-five poets in this collection tackle topics such as how they found their poetic voice, how they dealt with racial and gender discrimination, and how they keep writing despite rejection and disappointment. Through these intimate essays and interviews, one can see that there is more than one way to become a poet and that, quite often, true inspiration comes from the most unlikely places.
