Submitted by Deborah L. Zike, Aug 25, 2008 12:59

I've thought more about this. It's unusual for an American poet to discuss a concept like negative capability. |Maybe that's what is missing in recent American poetry--the ability to empathize. Perhaps Mr. Plumly with his hale and hearty manner is just the one to instruct us. He is a marvelous instructor. I had him once as a teacher one very hot summer in Iowa City where he taught me about line breaks when I ran into him at a laundromat. I wrote two of my best poems for his class.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.