�7#����������� � ����x�� \*��\7%\\�\\\\\\How deep the mud or, Why Do I Want to Enter Minnesota�s MFA in Creative Writing? I am curious about what makes a poem a poem. I am interested in how the snow curves like a woman over the railroad tracks. I am interested in the borders between poem and story�and what kinds of weeds and wildflowers grow there, and what it is like to live there, for a time, renting a wood house by the beach. I am interested in the moment when a weed becomes a poem, and a poem becomes a flower, and at that moment, I want to know, how young is the universe? I would like to talk with a roomful of college students, and find out what excites us in common. I want to know if anyone else feels the way I felt, sitting in writing class, imagining the universe expanding as we zeroed in on black and white�sometimes my teacher would say something about writing, something encouraging�I don�t even remember exactly what�and suddenly I would think, hey, this could be a real job after all! I could feel at once that I was doing honest work, AND exploring and simply having mindless fun, like picking pretty stones out of the sand down by the Lake, hour after glass-coloured hour! I would like to repair my spaceship. It stalls and starts in fits and coughs, and won�t escape the gravity of this world. I want to know what kind of language is poetic language, and when. I would like to know what shapes are poetic shapes, and how long they take to melt. I would like to stop stopping; I am afraid. I want to feel how deep the mud is around my house. I would like to get in a roomful of college students, only this time be the teacher. I would like to know how far a sliver of blue glass has to travel out to sea before it comes back to us on the beach, hopeful among the dead fish, tumbled round and round, perfectly smooth. u��z��z��z��z��z��z��z��z��z��z��z��z��z��j��p�����z�������������������������������������������������������������������������������������̣��f�����z�������������›�������٭��qzzb����֫������٭������������������������٭���������̣��f�����z��f��f``MppY��pppYss\���@@333)��f��p��������������z��s�����������z�����pppY��s������̣��f�����z���������������������������������� @ /� �/�UVWX�����%�����R������������������� $��$��$��$��$�0�Goody18 in between normal,tight old print��&�� ��$$ ����Lh�pH$,@� �� ����������U���������  � �  ��7h�#�&p&q*�.�/-/�/�3�3�3�3�3�3�3�3�3�7�9�9�9�9�9�9�9�9�9�9�9�9�9�9�::::::::�;�?�HH�@���� Rt(��HH � �'���� R=�/������BH-:LaserWriter 300/LS �Century Schoolbook/�Georgia������(� (�