‘Some poems come along at the right time. They come along, strike and get stuck. There is no telling when this will happen. You flirt with good, well-meaning, perfectly suitable poems for years but never want to marry any of them. Like love, there is a certain amount of luck, a certain amount of gut. And like love, we know if it has happened once, it can happen again.’

My essay on Bob Hicok’s poem “Bottom of the Ocean” is published by B O D Y. If you’ve got a few minutes to let me tell you about an excellent piece of work, do give it a look.