“I write the whole poem at one sitting and then come back to it from time to time over the months or years and rework it.”

—  A.R. Ammons

Paris Review interview (1996)
Context: I’ve always been highly energized and have written poems in spurts. From the god-given first line right through the poem. And I don’t write two or three lines and then come back the next day and write two or three more; I write the whole poem at one sitting and then come back to it from time to time over the months or years and rework it.

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A.R. Ammons photo
A.R. Ammons 17
American poet 1926–2001

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