One of the hallmarks of FIELD magazine has always been its attention to what poets have to say about poetry. Many of these essays--by William Stafford, Denise Levertov, Gary Snyder, Adrienne Rich, Donald Hall, Robert Bly, and Sandra McPherson, among others--have become classics. This revised and expanded collection of essays from the magazine provides a rich and stimulating perspective on the state of contemporary poetry, as seen through the eyes of the poets themselves.
Preface THE PROCESS OF WRITING A Way of Writing William Stafford Work and Inspiration: Inviting the Muse ?Denise Levertov Poetic Process? Margaret Atwood Goatfoot, Milktongue, Twinbird: The Psychic Origins of Poetic Form Donald Hall Reflections on the Origins of Poetic Form Robert Bly Portrait of the Writer as a Fat Man: Some Subjective Ideas or Notions on the Care & Feeding of Prose Poems Russell Edson Poetry and Science: The Science of Poetry/The Poetry of Science Miroslav Holub Gorky Street: Syntax and Context Dennis Schmitz The Two-Tone Line, Blues Ideology, and the Scrap Quilt Sandra McPherson THE POETIC LINE: A SYMPOSIUM The Working Line Sandra McPherson A Response to The Working Line James Wright Further Reflections on Line and the Poetic Voice John Haines The Line Donald Hall Some Thoughts about Lines Shirley Kaufman A Note on Prose, Verse and the Line William Matthews Some Thoughts about the Line Charles Simic THE IMAGE: A SYMPOSIUM Image and Images Charles Simic Notes on the Image: Body and Soul Donald Hall Recognizing the Image as a Form of Intelligence Robert Bly Image and Language Russell Edson Noun/Object/Image Marvin Bell POETRY AND VALUES Some Remarks on Literature and Reality G?nter Eich Meanings of Poetry Jean Follain Poetry, Community & Climax Gary Snyder Some Notes on the Gazer Within Larry Levis The Bite of the Muskrat: Judging Contemporary Poetry l“'