“You
don't need many words if you already know what you're talking about.”
– William Stafford
Stafford, who was born in Kansas on
this date in 1914, had a quiet daily ritual of writing, much of it focused on
the ordinary, but powerfully presented through his words. His gentle quotidian style has been compared
to that of Robert Frost.
A close friend and collaborator with
Minnesota poet Robert Bly, Stafford’s writing career started late in life (he
was 46 when he first published). His
writing, though, started privately much earlier and for over 50 years he kept a
daily journal until his death in 1993.
Ultimately his journals totaled over 20,000 pages, some published in the
2003 book Every War Has Two Losers. Stafford’s complete journal collection is
maintained by Lewis & Clark College.
A frequent contributor to magazines
and journals, Stafford composed some 22,000 poems with over 3,000 appearing in
his 57 published books of poetry.
U.S.
Poet Laureate James Dickey called Stafford 
one of those poets "who pour
out rivers of ink, all on good poems."
Stafford said he would love to be
able to constantly look at life through a child’s eyes, knowing that the world
would always look amazing that way.
“Kids,” he said. “They dance
before they learn there is anything that isn't music.”
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