"Marie is the kind of poet whose accomplishments are too many to mention, so
I'll keep it short and say that she's the author of four collections of poetry,
the recipient of a Guggenheim, and a former poet laureate of New York. While in
that role, she made it her mission to make poetry as ubiquitous as a Gap ad, and
she succeeded in bringing poetry to the streets and the subways of New York. And
she may not know this, but she also succeeded in bringing poetry to me. Like a
lot of people, I grew up thinking that poetry was difficult and inaccessible and
something that you needed special instruction to be able to decipher and to get
right.
Then a few years ago, I heard Marie speak at a conference, and she broke
poetry open for me. She made it real. She made it accessible. And I was so
taken by her that I plucked up the courage to walk up to her after the event
and introduce myself."
More in this interview between Suleika Jaouad and Marie Howe.
