I’ve had another of those weeks. A week full of joy and richness and some of the world’s best poetry. Until a few months ago I’d never contemplated Florida in terms of its poetry though I know Edna St Vincent Millay lived there. So too did Mary Oliver for the latter part of her life. A workshops group is a lucky dip and I lucked out to be in this room of talented interested and generous people from around the States and then there was Naomi from Israel and myself from Australia. I applied for the Palm Beach Poetry Conference when I saw who the leaders would be. I was lucky enough to be accepted into Ellen Bass’s workshop. I had discovered her work not so long before when I read her poem Indigo. It was a moment for me, something akin to hearing Yeats’ Tread Softly all those years ago when I knew “this” was what I wanted m y life to be about. Reading and hearing Indigo intensified my focus. A new bar had been set and I wanted to write with the energy and brilliance of Bass. I still do.
