My first published work was a poem in my high school literary magazine, and at Brooklyn College I was on the school literary magazine. But any pretense of pursuing poetry as a career was dashed when I took a careful look at the faculty of the English Department. At that time in the mid 70s, Allen Ginsberg, John Ashbery and David Lehman were teaching at BC. Any chip was promptly knocked off my shoulder and ground into dust. It was like thinking you're good enough to play in the NBA and having Michael Jordan kick your ass up and down the court until you realize that maybe basketball isn't a good career choice.

Last updated on March 9, 2010 by Website manager