And the Time Is: Poems, 1958-2013

Preface

X V Preface Choosing poems to be included in an omnibus volume of one’s work over a fifty-five-year period is not a minor challenge. Which poems should be included? Which ones should not be, and why? Some authors have simplified the matter by including all their work and letting the readers and critics do the evaluating. Still others have used the occasion as a time to let their personal preferences have the last word. I have chosen the second option. My reasons are that there were poems of mine that I thought were fine when I wrote them, but that feeling ebbed over time. On the other hand, there were others that seemed and still seem as present to me as they were when I wrote them. I have included these poems as the ones I would like to be judged by. The order is more or less chronological except in several instances where I have paired or grouped poems which, though written at different times, are linked by subject matter or theme. I would like to express my appreciation to Jo McDougall for a number of thoughtful and perceptive suggestions vis-à-vis some of the more recent poems. Finally, I want to give public thanks and credit to the late Thomas J. Donnelly for his longstanding support of several projects of mine whose primary purpose was to enhance the place of poetry in public speech. As always, I would like to express my gratitude to my dearest Mary Anne for her patience over the years when I was preoccupied with the writing of a poem and wondering where it was leading me. ...