On his latest offering, an all-bluegrass collaboration with The Del McCoury Band titled The Mountain , released in February, Earle spins heartfelt tales about a backwoods America that never really entered the 20th century. It's one of the year's essential releases. I think, in some ways, I'm a really natural teacher and, in some ways, I'm a really bad teacher left to my own devices because I tend to be impatient. But I think I'm reaching the age where if I really concentrate, I'll be good teacher. Not permanently, but I need to walk away from it.
Poetry is a great vehicle for that.
I can write poetry when I can write nothing else. That's really comforting for me. Then Earle, who's speaking to the Sun in a spare few minutes from his Nashville offices, has to be off. He needs to complete the final instalment in his upcoming collection of short stories. I'm wrestling with it now, but it's going to be really good.