In fact a lot of them I think are absolute baloney. Those Charles Olsens and people like that. At first I was interested in seeing what they were up to, what they were doing, why they were doing it. They never moved me in the way that one is moved by true poetry. – Norman MacCaig
And if they havent got poetry in them, theres nothing you can do that will produce it. – Norman MacCaig
I was very interested in American poetry for many years. Much less now. – Norman MacCaig
And the second question, can poetry be taught? I didnt think so. – Norman MacCaig
But I liked Yeats! That wild Irishman. I really loved his love of language, his flow. His chaotic ideas seemed to me just the right thing for a poet. Passion! He was always on the right side. He may be wrongheaded, but his heart was always on the right side. He wrote beautiful poetry. – Chinua Achebe