Taking root. The Singer sewing machine -- Growing up on British books -- Swift to its close -- The horses of childhood -- Homage to Polly Bunting -- Radcliffe in the forties -- Identity -- Poets and poetry. The revision of Emily D.: notes on 'After the poetry reading' -- On receiving the Frost medal -- Brief speech at the Poetry Society of America's laureates' dinner -- Celebrating Josephine Jacobsen, 1997 Frost medal winner -- Introduction to Carolyn Kizer: perspectives on her life and work -- Kiddielit with Anne Sexton -- Cats in Zanzibar -- Translations -- Audience -- Letter to a young writer -- Notes on 'Pantoum, with swan' -- The poet on the poem: contexts and connections -- Taking a stand: if this be treason, make the most of it -- Entry in poet's bookshelf -- On 'Four poems about Jamaica, ' by William Matthews -- Remembering Peter Davison -- On Jane Kenyon -- On Karl Jay Shapiro -- Carol Houck Smith, 1923-2008 -- Longfellow's antislavery poems -- Introduction to Perched on nothing's branch: selected poems, by Attila Jószef -- Foreword to Vive o muere, by Anne Sexton -- Foreword to The complete love poems of May Swenson -- Country living. Geese-go-south moon -- Breeding horses -- Foreword to Say this of horses -- Beautiful soup -- Spinach -- The wings of winter -- High ground -- Bear -- How we found our dog -- Settled in at home.