John Barton
John Barton
experience obsessed passage vulnerable
I have always been very obsessed with time. Time's passage makes us all very vulnerable and because we all experience it in our own way, it can make us feel very alone.
ford red silver smashed toyota
In the first accident, the silver Toyota Tundra smashed into the back of the red Ford truck, probably because of the smoke.
chose poems relative
I would not say I chose to write long poems on a conscious level. The long poem has been a relative constant.
easily expect poem poetry reader
No poem is easily grasped; so why should any reader expect fast results?
shock
I never yelled, never screamed. I was in shock that it was still going on.
administer exhausting
I find it exhausting to administer a magazine without an office or paid staff.
desired poetry views
If poetry alters the way in which the reader views the world, then it has had its desired effect.
obvious outset poems unfold
I have been told my poems unfold in such a way that it is not at all obvious from the outset where they are going or how they will end.
inevitably lives pull
Poets can't resist the dramatic pull of their lives and so inevitably write autobiographical verse.
brought conditions consider elements experiment interact number poem test
I consider a poem to be a kind of experiment where a number of elements are brought together under test conditions to see how they will interact to create meaning or relevance.
benefits companies compete offers package pick whoever
These companies will compete to be picked, and we'll pick whoever offers the package that better benefits the patient.
time
You can never step into the same book twice, because you are different each time you read it.
impose poet
The poet must decide not to impose his feelings in order to write without sentimentality.
arrive deliver disprove experiment prove reveals
The point of an experiment is not to arrive at a predetermined end point, to prove or disprove anything, but to deliver a poem that reveals much about the process taken.