Driving to a local parish to fill in for the pastor today, I caught most of an interview Mary Sue Twohy did with Richard Shindell on her Village Folk Show on Sirius XM's "The Bridge". He mentioned a few poets whom he admires, and spoke about poetry as songs.
He spoke about Wallace Stevens, the Reading, PA born insurance executive who wrote excellent poetry. His "Sunday Morning" and "The Idea of Order at Key West". Stevens rejected conventional forms of religion, like Shindell (although the singer did spend three years at Union Theological Seminary in New York City).For myself, that is certainly not where I stand, but I admire the poetry for its technical and linguistic excellence.
W. B. Yeats also received praise from Shindell for the song-like structure of the poetry and use of language. Shindell noted that most poetry cannot easily be turned into a song, but at times it is possible. Also mentioned was former US Poet Laureate Robert Haas.
The interview might be available somewhere eon the Internet, but I am not sure, I will post some links to the Stevens poems, and to Shindell's website. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Shindell's articulate and learned discussion about poetry and language.
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/43431
https://www.poetryfoundation.org/resources/learning/core-poems/detail/13261
http://richardshindell.com/index.php?page=home
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