I wish I could have projects like Donald Knuth has projects. As it is, I
call a couple of poems the start of a verse sequence and then just keep on
going, the idea being that some things might fall into place that otherwise
wouldn't have a place to fall into, and that by editing and rearranging
later I can shuffle the various dribs and drabs into something with a
modicum of pace and impetus. This is the larger scale version of what I do
when I'm writing a single poem: start with a couple of lines; tell myself
they're going to be a poem; go on and, if necessary, on.
- Dominic
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