KIM ADDONIZIO: I don't think anyone knows whether they have the talent for it or not when they start out. I think it has a lot more to do with falling in love with it and then wanting to make your own version. I was knocked out by some Sylvia Plath and just fell in love with poetry, just like being struck by lightning-- really fast. And then I wanted to figure out how to make my version of it.
So then I started learning and studying. And I would go to the bookstore not knowing anything, because I never had read any poetry except for a little bit in high school. And this was in my late 20s now when I suddenly had this moment. And I would just go to bookstores and pick books whose covers I liked.
And that's how I started reading. And I found some great poets that way. And then I ended up going to school and learning who else I should be reading.