Because Knott’s early life took place in various institutions, and because their confines would have seemed insurmountable, it shouldn’t be surprising that he viewed the poetry world with suspicion and contempt. After all, institutions were his only experience of organizing the chaotic world, and those institutions did not treat him well. — Sandra Simonds

I’ve been thinking about Bill Knott again. I feel this. I really do. Institutions have not treated me well, either, whether familial, social, political, religious, educational, or governmental. Read Simonds’s essay on Bill Knott on the Poetry Foundation’s website.