“On a good night, I may work on up to seven poems, each in a different stage toward completion. These drafts are stored in colored folders; finished poems go into a black spring-back binder.) Gradually, certain poems beg to be together. It’s like I can feel them searching for their tribe. When the specific gravity of certain poems becomes too much to bear, I start spreading poems them out on the floor. I walk among them, I talk to them: “Where do you want to be? Why are you sitting out there all alone — too good to fraternize, or are you shy, do you need someone to hold your hand?” I sing to them, listen for answers. It can get pretty crazy; I make sure no one sees me doing this, not even my husband.”

Rita Dove on the Best American Poetry Blog

http://blog.bestamericanpoetry.com/the_best_american_poetry/2011/12/until-the-fulcrum-tips-a-conversation-with-rita-dove-and-jericho-brown.html

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