Not as much as I d thought it would. It did give me a little more confidence, thinking that someone other than me might choose to read my poems. That still surprises me, meeting someone who knows my work but didn t know me until now. I imagine it s hard not to believe the hype, and start thinking that everything you produce is wonderful. I ve seen a number of poems by big names that I m convinced would never have been published otherwise.
Some young writers are too impatient.
They need to be gentler with themselves. They also need to realize that finding depth isn t a eureka process. It s an ongoing struggle. Everyone who wants to. There are so many good reasons to write poems besides publishing them.