I just returned [July, 2011] from the Community of Writers at Squaw Valley near Lake Tahoe in the Sierra Nevadas. What an amazing place, what lovely and talented people! Here are a few quotes from our staff poets who led workshops and gave craft talks.

Sometimes the dissatisfaction with the end of a poem is the next poem.

–Robert Hass

The soul is a metaphor of the traveling ability of the mind.

–Brenda Hillman

I’m interested in how poems entangle us between white space and the first utterance.

–Major Jackson

Repetition is a form of devotion.

–Major Jackson

[In poetry] it’s the shape of a backbone that is precious to me.

–Sharon Olds

I want to work in a way that will put my fear to rest.

–Sharon Olds

…this poem is a metaphor for listening.

–Cathy Park Hong

If you are considering applying to the Community of Writers then do it. Without a doubt, do it. I promise you can make good choices AND be a poet at the same time.