I want to acknowledge and thank my many friends in poetry and fellow writers who have made so much difference to me as a writer these last fifty years:
Peggy Berg, Robert Bly, Jill Breckenridge, Michael Dennis Browne, Don Brunnquell, Emilie Buchwald, Marisha Chamberlain, Carol Conroy, Patricia Francisco, Margot Kriel Galt, David Goldes, Joseph Goldes, Nor Hall, Patricia Hampl, Phebe Hanson, Margaret Hasse, Annie Hayes, Jane Hilberry, Nelson Hinds, Jane Hirshfield, Tony Hoagland, Lewis Hyde, Joel Janowitz, Deborah Keenan, Sandy Kinnee, Patricia Kirkpatrick, Joyce Kobayashi, Jim Krusoe, Julie Landsman, Jonathan Lee, Miriam Levine, Gretchen Marquette, David Mason, Gail Mazur, Bill Mohr, Carol Moldaw, Sheryl Mousley, David Mura, Alice Quinn, Mary Rockcastle, Wendy Salinger, Bart Schneider, Arthur Sze, Katrina Vandenberg, Carol Venezia, Michael Venezia, and Jay White.
I also want to thank my students who move me and make me laugh and trust me with their poems.
Three teachers made a huge difference: John Berryman, Toni McNaron, and George Starbuck.
And two teachers outside the classroom: Meridel LeSueur and Tom McGrath.
The Press at the Colorado College for their beautiful edition of the Tagore poems and to Accordion Productions for another beautiful book, What It’s Like Here.
Thanks to those blessed souls who read poetry because life without it feels impossible.
And to Graywolf Press: Fiona McCrae, Jeff Shotts, and Marisa Atkinson.
JoAnn Verburg’s photographs have appeared on the covers of six of my books. It’s been a wonderful thing for me that they have accompanied my work over the years as it has made its way into the world.
I also acknowledge with much gratitude a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation that helped significantly in the work of putting together this book.
I’d like to acknowledge the following publications for publishing new poems:
The Academy of American Poets on its Poem-A-Day website
Poetry City, USA (Vol. 4)
Sleet
32 Poems