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You Too Can Have a Masters of Fine Arts in Poetry

David Budbill 
Come on over to my house and give me $50,000.
I'll give you a list of books to read--none of which
was written more recently than 150 years ago.
I will also give you some pencils and some paper.

Then you go away and read those books, and
any other books you want to, just so long as none
of them was written more recently than 150 years ago.
And, if on occasion, you happen to hear a voice calling

to you from inside yourself somewhere, try to write down
what you hear, but whatever you do, for God's sake, don't
sit down and deliberately make up something to write about.
Do this for 25 years, then come back to see me. We'll have

a little ceremony out in the garden after you help me pick
the spinach and weed the beans. I'll put my dirty hand on
your head and declare that you now have a MFA in Poetry.
Then you can go away and never darken my door again.
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