My poetry is the most disappointing thing for me that I've ever written. When I say I can write everything, I don't say I can write everything well.

I cling to the idea that Herman Melville had to work at the end of his career watching ships in a dock, as a shipping agent in New York. Any writer who thinks they should be given patronage because of their gift... you don't have to look too far in history to see that's just not the case.

My poems... the ones that start out as jokes become these big ponderous things and the ones that start out ponderous devolve into jokes.

Jess Walter Quotes