Happier Outside

Did you ever think of going into a university?

Robert Bly: My idea of a poet was formed in 1950! I wanted to be independent of universities, as William Carlos Williams was, or Wallace Stevens or Eliot. Part of my reluctance was probably arrogance. But I do write best when I have a lot of time alone. I still say to my wife sometimes, "You know, I really should have joined a university. Then I could have one of those little white houses in some New England town, and there would be a sun porch and a salary; and when I got to school there would be these happy faces longing to see me!"

"Ah," she says, "You would have gotten fired anyway because you never keep your mouth shut!" That's probably true. Maybe I'm happier outside the university than I would be inside.

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