>>> PULITZER PRIZE WIN WITHER AND MOST RECENT UNITED STATES POET LAUREATE CHARLES SIMIC WRITES POEMS, >> CHARLES SIMIC WAS BORN IN BELGRADE, YUGOSLAVIA, WHERE HE EXPERIENCED THE CHAOS AND DESTRUCTION OF WORLD WAR II, THE COMMUNIST REGIME, AND EVENTUALLY IMMIGRATION TO THE UNITED STATES WHEN HE WAS 15.

HE LIVED IN CHICAGO, SERVEDIN THE U.S.

ARMY ABROAD AND EARNED A DEGREE FROM N.Y.U.

BY THE EARLY 70s, HE WAS MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF AS A POET AND LANDED A JOB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE WHERE HE TAUGHT FOR 34 YEARS AND RAISED A FAMILY.

SIMIC IS ALSO AN INFLUENTIAL ESSAYIST, TRANSLATOR, AND EDITOR.

HE HAS BEEN AWARDED NUMEROUS MAJOR ACCOLADES, INCLUDING A PULITZER PRIZE, A MacARTHUR FELLOWSHIP, AND THE WALLACE STEVENS AWARD.

SIMIC IS THE AUTHOR OF OVER 60 BOOKS, INCLUDING 19 OF POETRY AND HE IS CO-EDITOR OF THE "PARIS REVIEW."

>> IT IS GREAT TO HAVE YOU HERE.

>> NICE TO BE HERE.

>> YOU SPENT YOUR CHILDHOOD IN WAR-TORN EUROPE, YUGOSLAVIA IN THE 40s, SURVIVING TWO MAJOR BOMBINGS OF THAT CITY.

AND YOUR FATHER WAS ARRESTED SEVERAL TIMES.

HE FINALLY GOT OUT TO ITALY, WAS ALSO ARRESTED THERE WHILE LOOKING FOR WORK, AND THIS WAS ALL IN 1944 THAT HE FLED.

WAS HE A TROUBLE-MAKER, OR JUST THE WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME?

>> WRONG PLACE, WRONG TIME.

YOU COULD BE ARRESTED FOR BEING, YOU KNOW, OFF THE CURFEW.

10:00 CURFEW IN BELGRADE, AND IF YOU WERE COMING IN FIVE MINUTES AFTER, AND BOOKED INTO A JUVENILE PATROL THEY LOCKED YOU UP.

>> THAT'S IT.

>> I FORGET WHAT THE REASONS WERE FOR THE ARRESTS.

>> RIGHT.

>> BUT HE -- THEY DIDN'T KEEP HIM FOR VERY LONG.

>> THEN AFTER MANY ATTEMPTS IT LEAVE THE COUNTRY, YOU, YOUR MOTHER, AND BROTHER WERE FINALLY ABLE TO GET OUT OF THE COUNTRY TEN YEARS LATER IN 1954 -- >> 1953.

>> IN '53.

YOU TOOK OFF, TOOK OFF VERY QUICKLY.

SHE WASN'T GOING TO HESITATE.

>> YOU GET A PASSPORT, AND GETTING A PASSPORT WAS SORT OF DIFFICULT AND RARE AND SHE JUST DIDN'T TRUST THE COMMUNISTS.

SO, SHE GOT THE PASSPORT IN THE MORNING, AND WE WERE ON THE EVENING TRAIN TO PARIS.

>> WOW.

THAT IS A QUICK TURN AROUND.

>> SURPRISED ME.

>> I BET IT DID.

PACKED UP AND GONE.

AND THEN YOU WERE IN PARIS FOR A YEAR WAITING TO GO TO THE UNITED STATES.

>> RIGHT.

>> TRYING TO LEARN ENGLISH AND GETTING READY FOR THAT.

>> THAT'S RIGHT.

IT WAS ALL VERY STRANGE.

I WAS PLAYING BASKETBALL THAT DAY IN BELGRADE IN THE AFTERNOON, AFTER LUNCH, AND IN A COURT NEARBY, AND WITH FRIENDS, AND SHE CAME AND SAID COME WITH ME.

COME HOME.

AND I SAID, MA, COME ON, LET ME FINISH THE GAME.

LET ME PLAY A LITTLE MORE.

AND SHE DRAGGED ME HOME.

I MEAN, LITERALLY DRAGGED ME, AND I WAS MAD FOR BEING DRAGGED.

WHAT IS THE BIG DEAL.

IT WAS JUNE, NO SCHOOL.

SHE TOOK ME IN, AND TOLD ME, CLOSED THE DOOR AND SHE SAID, WE'RE GOING TO PARIS TONIGHT.

AND I REMEMBER -- >> YOU COULDN'T SAY GOODBYE TO YOUR FRIENDS OR -- >> YOU COULDN'T SAY ANYTHING TO ANYONE.

AND I REMEMBER KIND OF -- NOT BEING ABLE TO REGISTER THIS AT ALL.

I MEAN, I SORT OF KNEW THIS IS AN EXCITING PROPOSITION, BUT I REALLY -- I REALLY NEVER UNDERSTOOD, YOU KNOW, UNTIL EVENTUALLY THE NEXT MORNING CROSSED INTO ITALY, AND THEN I -- I KNEW WE WERE ON OUR WAY.

>> HOW HAS THAT REFUGEE EXPERIENCE SHAPED YOUR LIFE?

>> VERY MUCH SO.

I MEAN, WHEN WE CAME TO PARIS, WE HAD TO -- IT WAS PROBABLY A YEAR WAITING FOR THE AMERICAN VISA BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, AND YUGOSLAVIA, I THINK HAD SOMETHING LIKE 900 PLACES EVERY YEAR, VERY SMALL QUOTA, AND WE HAD TO GO EVERY TEN MONTHS AND RENEW OUR RESIDENCE PERMIT, WHICH MEANT STANDING IN LONG, LONG LINES WITH OTHER DISPLACED PEOPLE, AND ALWAYS BEING, YOU KNOW, TREATED SORT OF BADLY IN THE SENSE OF IT WAS ALWAYS SOMETHING WRONG WITH YOUR DOCUMENTS OR YOU WERE MISSING SOME DOCUMENT.

THE HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA OF MY GRANDMOTHER, YOU KNOW, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS -- >> THEY INSISTED ON HAVING ONE WEEK AND NOT THE NEXT.

>> YEAH, EXACTLY.

YOU COME BACK THE NEXT WEEK, NEXT WEEK AFTER, IMMENSE DIFFICULTY TO GET THIS DOCUMENT FROM YUGOSLAVIA AND THEN HAVE IT TRANSLATED, TOO.

AND, YOU KNOW, SHOW IT TO A DIFFERENT CLERK.

SO, YOU REALIZE AFTER ABOUT A YEAR HOW BASICALLY A PERSON WITHOUT A COUNTRY AND YOU ARE A PERSON WITHOUT A COUNTRY, AND ANYONE CAN DO ANYTHING TO YOU.

>> AND THEN YOU CAME HERE.

YOUR EXPERIENCES QUITE URBAN, IN CHICAGO AND NEW YORK CITY.

>> NEW YORK, AND THEN CHICAGO, AND THEN BACK TO NEW YORK.

>> RIGHT.

AND HOW WERE THE CITIES DIFFERENT FROM BELGRADE?

OF COURSE THEY WERE NOT WAR-TORN, BUT -- >> THEY WERE BIGGER.

WHEN I GOT TO PARIS, I SAID THIS IS TERRIFIC, IT IS BIGGER THAN BELGRADE.

WHEN I GOT TO NEW YORK, THIS IS EVEN BETTER, YOU KNOW, MORE FUN THAN PARIS.

AND I GREW UP RIGHT IN THE HEART OF BELGRADE, TWO BLOCKS FROM A BIG STREET WITH MOVIE HOUSES AND, YOU KNOW, BIG HOTELS.

SO THIS IS MY EXPERIENCE OF THE CITY, OF THE CENTER OF THE CITY.

I ALWAYS LOVED THAT.

>> YOU HAD THIS VERY URBAN, BUT ALSO DANGEROUS AND CHAOTIC CHILDHOOD, AND YOU END UP GETTING THIS JOB AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE AND SETTLING IN NEW ENGLAND.

WAS THAT DISQUIETING OR JUST THIS BLESSED RELIEF, IS IT HOME?

>> IT IS VERY MUCH HOME.

I LIVED IN STRAFFORD NEW HAMPSHIRE LONGER THAN ANY OTHER PLACE THAN I HAVE EVER LIVED.

I REALLY GOT TO LIKE THE PLACE.

I COULD HAVE LEFT OVER THE YEARS.

I HAD MANY, MANY OFFERS TO GO PLACES, BUT I GREW TO LOVE THIS LITTLE PLACE, AND THE WHOLE AREA, YOU KNOW, NEW ENGLAND.

SO, AS YEARS WENT BY, I FELT MORE AND MORE AT HOME, AND NOW IT IS JUST UNTHINKABLE THAT I WOULD GO ANYWHERE.

>> YOU DON'T NEED THE CITY SO MUCH ANYMORE.

>> I DO, I DO NEED THE CITY.

>> YOU DO NEED THE CITY.

OKAY.

WHEN DID YOU START WRITING POETRY?

>> IN HIGH SCHOOL, LESS SEMESTER.

>> IN CHICAGO?

>> IN CHICAGO.

>> AS A YOUNG MAN, YOU WERE ALSO INTERESTED IN BEING A PAINTER, YOU PAINTED, HAD AN INTEREST, AND STILL DO, I THINK, IN JAZZ MUSIC, YOUR MOTHER WAS A MUSIC TEACHER.

HOW DID POETRY WIN OUT AS THE ART YOU CHOSE TO PURSUE?

>> WELL, I MEAN, I JUST REALIZED AT SOME POINT THAT THAT WAS TRULY MY OBSESSION.

I WANTED TO WRITE A POEM THAT I CAN FEEL GOOD ABOUT.

ONCE I REALIZED THAT MY TALENT AS A PAINTER WAS LIMITED AND I HAD A SENSE THAT I COULD DO MORE ORIGINAL WORK, MORE INTERESTING WORK IN POETRY -- >> THIS IS YOUR SECOND LANGUAGE.

>> I MEAN, I NEVER ASKED MYSELF THAT QUESTION, NEVER POSED THAT PROBLEM.

IT HAPPENED, I STARTED WRITING IN ENGLISH, BECAUSE EVERYBODY I KNEW WAS AMERICAN, SO I WANTED TO SHARE MY POEM WITH GIRLS AND GUYS THAT I KNEW, AND SO I KEPT WRITING, I MEAN, WITHOUT THINKING I -- IT ISN'T LIKE SOMEBODY SAID TO ME -- SOMEBODY JUST RECENTLY SAID, WHEN DID YOU DECIDE TO BECOME A POET?

I NEVER DID.

I MEAN, YOU KNOW, YOU WROTE -- I SHOWED MY POEMS TO PEOPLE WHO WROTE POETRY, WE TALKED ABOUT POETRY.

I STARTED PUBLISHING JOURNALS AND SO -- BUT, YOU KNOW, IT WAS SOMETHING THAT I DID, BUT I DID A LOT OF OTHER THINGS.

I HAD TO WORK.

I HAD TO DO DIFFERENT THINGS IN LIFE.

IT IS NOT THAT I FELT THAT SOMETHING WAS GOING TO COME OUT OF THIS.

>> RIGHT.

BUT IT DID.

>> IT DID.

>> AND HOW DO POEMS TYPICALLY BEGIN FOR YOU?

IS IT A TOPIC, A WORD, A PHRASE?

>> WELL, TYPICALLY -- THERE IS NO TYPICALLY.

IT COULD BE A PHRASE, AN INTERESTING PHRASE THAT SOMEHOW YOU CAN'T GET OUT OF YOUR HEAD, AND IT BEGINS TO ATTRACT OTHER LANGUAGE, IT GROWS, NO IDEA, YOU KNOW, WHERE IT IS GOING.

AND THEN THERE ARE TIMES WHEN SOMETHING HAPPENED TO ME, A LONG TIME AGO, AN EXPERIENCE, AND ALL OF THE SUDDEN I HAD THIS GREAT DESIRE TO RECREATE IT, TO WRITE ABOUT IT.

SO, THAT'S A DIFFERENT KIND OF POEM BECAUSE THERE IS SOMETHING SPECIFIC THAT I AM LOOKING FOR, MOODS THAT I WANT TO EXPERIENCE, EMOTION, AN EVENT.

THE OTHER KIND OF POEMS WHICH I LIKE VERY MUCH, I MEAN, JUST THE PHRASE ITSELF IMPOSES ITSELF, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE YOU'RE GOING.

THE ADVENTURE IS JUST WONDERFUL.

>> ARE THERE ELEMENTS THAT YOU REQUIRE OF YOUR POEMS, EITHER IN THE WAY OF LANGUAGE, POLITICAL STATEMENT, OR IS IT JUST EACH POEM HAS ITS OWN LIFE?

>> EACH POEM HAS ITS OWN LIFE.

REALLY THE OTHER ONE DOESN'T REALLY KNOW WHERE IT IS GOING TO END UP.

EVEN IF YOU ARE -- A POEM ABOUT YOUR GRANDFATHER, REMEMBER YOUR GRANDFATHER, AND THE POEM STARTS ABOUT THE GRANDFATHER AND THIS AND THAT, AND YOU PUT HIM ON A PORCH, AND YOU GIVE HIM A CANE, YOU KNOW, AND IT IS DUSK, AND WHATEVER YOU HAVE, AND YOU THINK IT WAS A POEM AND THINK IT WAS A POEM, AND FINALLY SOME OTHER STUFF COMES INTO THE POEM, MORE INTERESTING STUFF.

IT'S THE POEM THAT IS UPPERMOST, IS THE MOST IMPORTANT THING, GETTING A POEM.

A POEM IS A WORK OF ART.

IT IS A LITTLE THING WHERE, STRANGE LITTLE BOX, BECAUSE THEY'RE BOX SHAPED, AND YOU START READING IT, AND IT OPENS, AND YOU LOOK INSIDE, THE READER LOOKS INSIDE AND SEES ALL OF THESE THINGS, AND SINCE IT IS SHORT, WELL, YOU HAVE TO SORT OF PUT THINGS TOGETHER AS YOU SEE THEM, AND IF YOU LIKE IT, YOU GO BACK AND TAKE ANOTHER PEEK AND ANOTHER PEEK AND SO FORTH.

>> AND YOU YOU KEEP MOST OF THEM QUITE SHORT.

>> YES, QUITE SHORT.

>> WITH YOU READ ONE, SUNDAY PAPERS, FROM THE BOOK THAT CAME OUT, 60 POEMS, WHEN YOU BECAME POET LAUREATE.

>> SUNDAY PAPERS.

THE BUTCHERY OF THE INNOCENT NEVER STOPS.

THAT'S ABOUT ALL WE CAN EVER BE SURE OF, LOVE.

EVEN MORE SURE THAN OF THIS ROAST YOU ARE BRINGING OUT OF THE OVEN.

IT IS SUNDAY.

THE CONGREGATION FILES SLOWLY OUT OF THE CHURCH ACROSS THE STREET.

A GOOD MANY CARRY BIBLES IN THEIR HANDS.

IT IS THE VAGUE DESIRE FOR TRUTH AND A MIGHTY FEAR OF IT THAT MAKES THEM TURN UP DESPITE THE THE GLORIOUS SPRING WEATHER.

IN THE HALLWAY, HONESTY TO GROWL AT HIS OWN IMAGE IN THE MIRROR BEFORE LUMBERING OFF TO THE KITCHEN WHERE THE LAMB ROAST SAT, SMELLING OF GARLIC AND ROSEMARY.

>> SO WONDERFUL THAT YOU CAN SMELL THE POEM, YOU CAN SEE THE POEM.

THERE IS A LOT GOING ON THERE.

IS THERE A SOURCE FOR YOUR VERY DISTINCT, SOMETIMES BIZARRE IMAGES AND JUXTAPOSITIONS, ACTIVE IMAGINATION, SURREALISM, IS IT PLANNED, OR IS IT JUST WHAT COMES TOGETHER -- >> IT COMES TOGETHER.

THIS POEM, ITS ORIGIN IS THAT SORT OF EXPERIENCE OF BEING -- A NICE DAY, BEAUTIFUL SUNDAY MORNING, AND IN THIS CASE, IT APPEARS TO BE EASTER, AND, YOU KNOW, YOU GET THE SUNDAY PAPERS, THE "NEW YORK TIMES," AND YOU START READING, AND IN HALF AN HOUR, YOU'RE COMPLETELY DEPRESSED, EVERYTHING YOU READ, YOU KNOW, FROM INTERNATIONAL NEWS TO THE DOMESTIC TO BUSINESS PAGES, ON AND ON, IS DEPRESSING, AWFUL.

AND ABOVE ALL THIS BUSINESS OF THE INNOCENTS BEING KILLED.

YOU READ ON PAGE 21, WAR IN AFRICA, A WAR SOME PLACE, SOME PLACE IN ASIA, AND, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE ARE DYING, AND SO I -- THIS HAPPENED TO ME MANY TIMES, HAPPENS TO EVERYBODY, THAT KIND OF MOMENT, AND I WANTED TO COMBINE THESE ELEMENTS AND THE CHURCH ACROSS THE STREET, IT'S EASTER, AND, YOU KNOW, THE DOG AND THE WIFE, THE NARRATOR, SHOWING THIS BEAUTIFUL LAMB ROAST.

>> EASTER SUPPER.

>> ALL OF THE SYMBOLIST -- SYMBOLISM.

>> CREATING A JUMP MACHINE, ALLOWING THE READER TO TRAVEL IN THEIR OWN MIND.

CAN YOU ELABORATE ON THAT?

>> YOU START OFF, YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE THE POEM IS GOING TO GROW.

YOU ARE IN A BOOKSTORE, YOU PULL A BOOK OFF A SHELF, YOU OPEN IT UP, AND THERE IS SOMETHING THAT LOOKS LIKE A POEM AND YOU START READING, AND YOU FIND YOURSELF -- IT IS A POEM -- YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THIS POEM IS ABOUT BEFORE.

NO IDEA.

SUDDENLY YOU ARE CAPTIVATED.

THE POEM, IT BRINGS KIND OF A TIMER, MOVING AT A CERTAIN SPEED.

THE POEM SAYS THERE IS THIS, THERE IS THAT, THERE IS THAT, AND ALL OF THESE LITTLE LINES AND IMAGES PULL YOU INTO ANOTHER REALITY, AND THEN BY THE END, IF THE POEM IS REALLY GOOD AND EFFECTIVE, BY THE END, IT IS AMAZING.

YOU REALIZE YOU HAVE BEEN SO FAR, TRAVELED IN SPACE AND TIME -- >> RIGHT.

>> AND HERE YOU ARE BACK IN THE BOOKSTORE, AND IF YOU REALLY LIKE IT, YOU CHECK TO SEE WHAT THE PRICE OF THE BOOK IS.

>> INDEED.

TIME IS GOING WAY TOO FAST.

YOUR POEMS ARE SO BEAUTIFUL AND HORRIFYING.

I WONDER IF YOU WOULD READ ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORRORS FROM YOUR MOST RECENT BOOK "THAT LITTLE SOMETHING" SO WE GET ONE MORE SOUND.

OF COURSE, THESE ARE -- WELL, SOMEWHAT POLITICAL.

>> I MEAN, AGAIN, THE SUBJECT OF HORRORS, DAILY HORRORS.

>> YOU CERTAINLY WITNESSED IT AS A CHILD.

>> DEFINITELY.

AND I SORT OF IMAGINED SOME KIND OF ENCYCLOPEDIA IN WHICH EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS MOMENT BY MOMENT IS ENTERED.

THE POEM,ENCYCLOPEDIA OF HORROR.

NO ONE READS LIKE THE INSOMNIACS.

A CHILD SLAPPED BY HIS MOTHER ONLY THIS MORNING, AND THE MAD HOMELESS WOMAN WHO SQUATTED TO URINATE IN THE STREET.

PERHAPS THEY MISSED SOMETHING.

THAT SMOKE-SHROUDED CITY AFTER A BOMBING RAID, THE CORPSES LIKE SACRED -- BUT NO, EVERYONE IS HERE.

TO BE TOO MANY IMAGES TO COME THROUGH, TOO MANY STORIES TO LISTEN TO.

LIKE THE ONE ABOUT GUARDS PLAYING CARDS AFTER THEY WERE DONE BEATING THE PRISONER.

>> WHAT HAUNTS YOU THESE DAYS?

YOU HAVE ALL OF THESE JUXTAPOSITIONS OF THE CREEPY, WONDEROUS, AND THE PEOPLE ON THE FRINGES, AND EVIL THAT LURKS IN OUR SOULS.

WHAT IS PROMPTING YOU THESE DAYS THAT NEEDS TO BE EXPRESSED?

>> WHATEVER HAUNTS ME IS THE SAME THING THAT IS IN THOSE POEMS, THE STATE OF THE WORLD.

THE TWO WAR IS OUT THERE -- >> AND SHOULD POETS BE POLITICAL, SHOULD ARTISTS BE POLITICAL?

>> I THINK IT IS UP TO THE POET.

I MEAN, POETS WHO ARE POLITICAL, CAN'T GET OVER THE FACT THAT EVIL THINGS ARE HAPPENING IN THE WORLD, AND OTHERS WHO ARE PRIVATE -- WROTE POEMS ABOUT THE CIVIL WAR, AND LIVING ACROSS FROM A CHURCH WHERE THEY BROUGHT PEOPLE ALMOST WEEKLY AND DAILY -- SHE DOESN'T HAVE POEMS ABOUT THAT THE WAY WHITMAN HAS POEMS.

THEY'RE BOTH GREAT POETS.

IT DEPENDS ON THE POET.

IN MY CASE, I JUST -- I CAN'T HELP IT.

I MEAN, I WRITE A LOT OF POEMS ABOUT OTHER THINGS, NATURE, YOU KNOW, CITIES, AND ALL SORTS OF THINGS, LOVE.

>> INDEED.

FOOD.

>> FOOD.

>> YOU JUST FINISHED YOUR APPOINTMENT AS U.S.

POET LAUREATE.

DID YOU ENJOY IT?

WHAT WAS REQUIRED THERE?

>> I ENJOYED IT TREMENDOUSLY.

NOTHING WAS OFFICIALLY REQUIRED, BUT IT GOT TO BE VERY, VERY BUSY.

OFFICIALLY REQUIRED THAT YOU READING, LECTURE AT THE LIBRARY OF COMMERCE, AND ORGANIZE READINGS THERE, POETRY READINGS, MONTHLY POETRY READINGS, AND A FELLOWSHIP FOR TWO YOUNGER POETS.

BUT IT'S BY NOW A VERY FAMILIAR POSITION.

EVERYBODY KNOWS POET LAUREATE.

IT IS A GRAND NAME.

EVERYBODY TAKES IT IN STRIDE THAT THERE IS ANOTHER POET LAUREATE.

SO, TO MY AMAZEMENT, THE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION THAT YOU GET FROM, YOU KNOW, NEWSPAPERS AND RADIO STATIONS AND ON AND ON AND ON, MAGAZINES, AND NOT TO MENTION, YOU KNOW, PRIVATE CITIZENS, SO IT KEPT GETTING BUSIER AND BUSIER AND BUSIER.

MY EMAIL -- >> I CAN IMAGINE.

AND WANTING TO KNOW WHAT IS THE STATE OF POETRY TODAY -- >> YES, TELL STORIES, THEY SAY, DO YOU THINK THIS WILL MAKE A GOOD POEM?

>> OH, DEAR.

[LAUGHTER] >> WELL -- >> YOU KNOW, MY WIFE OF 55 YEARS WROTE A POEM, YOU SHOULD SEE A DOCTOR.

>> SERIOUSLY.

>> YOU KNOW, I FELT THAT I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR 300 MILLION -- [LAUGHTER] >> WELL, HOW IS POETRY DOING?

I MEAN, POETRY SLAMS IN RAP AND OTHER THINGS THAT PEOPLE -- >> POETRY IS DOING INCREDIBLY WELL.

IF YOU GO ON THE WEB AND YOU SEE HOW MANY WEB SITES HAVE BEEN DEDICATED TO POETRY, YOU KNOW, TENS AND TENS OF THOUSANDS, AND MANY OF THEM ARE TERRIFIC, REALLY, YOU KNOW, THEY COLLECT EVERY ARTICLE ABOUT POETRY PUBLISHED IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD.

FANTASTIC, PRODUCED, WELL DONE, AND PEOPLE READ THEM OBVIOUSLY AND THEY LOOK AT THEM.

SO, MY IMPRESSION WAS THAT POETRY IN THIS COUNTRY IS DOING WELL.

>> DOES THE FACT THAT AMERICANS LACK A STRONG LITERARY BASE AND CULTURAL COHESIVENESS MAKE IT MORE DIFFICULT FOR POETS OR POETRY?

>> A STRANGE PARADOX AS YOU KNOW, EDUCATION IN THIS COUNTRY IS, YOU KNOW, WORSE THAN EVER.

AND STUDENTS, YOU KNOW, I HAVE -- I TAUGHT ALL OF THOSE YEARS, STUDENTS IN THE LAST TEN YEARS, YOU KNOW, THEY KNOW LESS AND LESS.

THEY KNOW NOTHING ABOUT LONG TRADITIONS, LITERARY TRADITIONS, HISTORY AND SO FORTH.

AT THE SAME TIME, SO MANY PEOPLE READ POETRY.

SO MANY PEOPLE WRITE POETRY, WHICH WAS NOT TRUE WHEN I STARTED OUT IN THE 1950'S.

PEOPLE INTERESTED IN MODERN POETRY WHEN I WAS GROWING UP IN CHICAGO, IT WAS LIKE A CULT, A LITTLE TINY GROUP THAT WOULD MEET AT MIDNIGHT, YOU KNOW, TO TALK ABOUT MODERN POETRY.

BUT NOW, YOU KNOW, I WAS ASKED THIS QUESTION, YOU KNOW, WHY, WHY, WHY?

IT IS -- IT SEEMS THAT IT IS A PLACE WHERE SOLITARY HUMAN BEINGS, LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO FEEL ALONE, SOLITARY IN THIS BIG COUNTRY OF OURS, IT IS A PLACE WHERE THEY CAN, IF THEY ARE WRITING, THEY CAN SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THEIR SOLITUDE AND ALSO READING ABOUT IT, AND GETTING IN TOUCH WITH ANOTHER'S SOLITUDE, AND IT'S NOT ONLY THRIVING, IT IS DOING REALLY WELL.

A LOT OF PEOPLE ARE READING IT.

>> U.S.

POELAEATE CHARLES SIMIC.

I'M SORRY.

WE ARE ALL OUT OF TIME.

IT HAS BEEN WONDERFUL TALKING TO YOU TODAY.

>> WONDERFUL TALKING TO YOU, TOO.

>> FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO OUR WEB SITE vpt.org AND FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIM AND OUR OTHER GUESTS.

I'M FRAN STODDARD.

THANKS FOR JOINING US TONIGHT.

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