Excellent Quotes: Say Uncle

This past week I attended the inaugural reading of the Poet Laureate, Kay Ryan. She is my favorite living poet and she turns out to be a funny, funny human as well as a master craftsman. During her reading, Ryan included, "That Will to Divest":

"Action creates
a taste
for itself.
Meaning: once
you've swept
the shelves
of spoons
and plates
you kept
for guests,
it gets harder
not to also
simplify the larder,
not to dismiss
rooms, not to
divest yourself
of all the chairs
but one, not
to test what
singleness can bear,
once you've begun."
--Ryan, Kay. Say Uncle. New York (NY): Grove/Atlantic, Inc., 2000. P. 17.

PS - I opened the door to the Madison Building for Ryan as she was on her way in to the event; woefully, she didn't recognize me, the Middle Manager Laureate. Oh, and Rybyn Hitchcock's "Underground Sun" is fun; now playing on iTunes.