I guess in terms of sincerity, the first order of business
is always to get as close to the truth as possible.
And so what I thought was interesting about the way you
framed the question was that it even when we're not--
even when the poem starts to say something that we didn't
want it to say initially.
And I think that what happens is that in the process of writing
the poem I mean there's really this kind
of naked openness to the writing of poems where it'll take you.
There has to be a point where you
feel sort of that the poem will be smarter than the poet
and that the poet the poem will sort of lead you
to a more accurate depiction of what is it
you're trying to say.
Whether it's something that you've always
thought of or believed in or not even
if it's uncomfortable for you to put out there.
And I think that kind of openness to it
comes back to the truth.
Even when we talk about what's funny,
you know in the humor or irony or ironic.
It's like it's still going back to what's
true that makes it ironic that makes it funny
and/or makes it sincere.
So you know that's--
for me the thing I try to keep in mind
when approaching a poem is that whatever-- just
like if I used to I did a graduate program
within social science years ago.
One of the things that I found in the process of doing
that kind of research is that you have a hypothesis
that you set out for.
And then as you do the research sometimes
things come up that are counter to what your hypothesis was.
And if you're going to be a good research
and you follow that you let it happen same thing
happens in the heart.
If you're following this is that this is your idea
but then something else comes up is more accurate or more true
then you have to be open enough to follow that as well.