I think I'm a very good reader of poetry, but obviously, like everybody, I have a set of criteria for reading poems, and I'm not shy about presenting them, so if people ask for my critical response to a poem,…

Quote by Diane Wakoski

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One, I have a wonderful publisher, Black Sparrow Press; as long as they exist, they...

One, I have a wonderful publisher, Black Sparrow Press; as long as they exist, they...

PC stuff just lowers the general acceptance of good work and replaces it with bogus...

PC stuff just lowers the general acceptance of good work and replaces it with bogus...

I have always wanted what I have now come to call the voice of personal...

I have always wanted what I have now come to call the voice of personal...

Other people have noticed more of an evolution than I have and so I'll try...

Other people have noticed more of an evolution than I have and so I'll try...

Still, language is resilient, and poetry when it is pressured simply goes underground.

Still, language is resilient, and poetry when it is pressured simply goes underground.

I'm perfectly happy when I look out at an audience and it's all women. I...

I'm perfectly happy when I look out at an audience and it's all women. I...

I'm passing on a tradition of which I am part. There's a long line of...

I'm passing on a tradition of which I am part. There's a long line of...

I definitely wish to distinguish American poetry from British or other English language poetry.

I definitely wish to distinguish American poetry from British or other English language poetry.

I don't like political poetry, and I don't write it. If this question was pointing...

I don't like political poetry, and I don't write it. If this question was pointing...

Sometimes the archaism of the language when it's spoken is why we are all in...

Sometimes the archaism of the language when it's spoken is why we are all in...

From reading a previous answer, you know that I consider all those aspects to be...

From reading a previous answer, you know that I consider all those aspects to be...

Distinctly American poetry is usually written in the context of one's geographic landscape, sometimes out...

Distinctly American poetry is usually written in the context of one's geographic landscape, sometimes out...

I think that great poetry is the most interesting and complex use of the poet's...

I think that great poetry is the most interesting and complex use of the poet's...

High and low culture come together in all Post Modern art, and American poetry is...

High and low culture come together in all Post Modern art, and American poetry is...

My poems are almost all written as Diane. I don't have any problems with that,...

My poems are almost all written as Diane. I don't have any problems with that,...

I think that's what poetry does. It allows people to come together and identify with...

I think that's what poetry does. It allows people to come together and identify with...

So, I've never been politically correct, even before that term was available to us, and...

So, I've never been politically correct, even before that term was available to us, and...

I do not read newspapers. I do not watch television. I am not interested in...

I do not read newspapers. I do not watch television. I am not interested in...

But I don't think that poetry is a good, to use a contemporary word, venue,...

But I don't think that poetry is a good, to use a contemporary word, venue,...

I think one of the things that language poets are very involved with is getting...

I think one of the things that language poets are very involved with is getting...