"In 1976, before I'd published anything, I wrote a long, windy poem called 'Fathers and Sons.' I sent it to the journal Quarterly West. The editor sent the poem back with a note suggesting I rewrite the middle two sections and resubmit it. I knew from watching the editors of Sequoia, the Stanford literary journal, that all editors are overworked and underpaid and can't possibly read everything that crosses their desks with keen attention. So I waited six months and sent the poem back unchanged, with a letter thanking the editor for his suggestions, all of which I said I took. I even said that if he didn't accept the poem, I was still in his debt, because his suggestions had made the poem new to me again and more like what I initially envisioned when I started writing it. Within days, I received a letter from the editor accepting the poem and commending me for my professionalism."

-Alan Shapiro, "Why Write?" from the Cincinatti Review, republished in The Best American Essays 2006. Not available online.

Shapiro writes that he told this story at Bread Loaf, and was later informed by one of his students that he'd taken his advice and did the same thing re: a returned submission from Boulevard, and had the same result.

Interesting essay. Talks a bit about the relationship between ADD and writing poetry--how writing poetry helps easily-distracted minds concentrate.