Response to a fan regarding National Poetry Month
Dear Daniel,
Thank you for your correspondence!
Some writers argue that the exclamation mark only serves weak writers who cannot convey what they intend with powerful, clear language. I am not one of those people, but I wary of over-taxing the (motorways and tramlines) exclamation point. If I were to write a novel, I would imagine it would only have three or four instances of punctuated exclaim.
No, I have not received any presents for National Poetry Month. I have, however, written some poems, thereby decorating my mind. Currently, I am working on a good one about marginality and liminality. I am investigating how the intellectual study and understanding of ideals, such as justice and equity, may not translate into ethical behaviour or living. I suppose this is a version of writing about Pharisees (those who are set apart). Maybe I will add that reference in somewhere.
I remember your mother.
I hope you are always ready to cast the first stone. Remember, nothing gets done without a degree of inconsistency.
Take care of yourself,
Leif


