SOURCE: "A Conversation with Philip Levine," in TriQuarterly, No. 95, Winter, 1995/1996, pp. 67-82.

In the following interview, conducted in Harry Thomas's English class at Davidson College on April 25, 1995, Levine answers questions about the sources and subject matter of his poetry as well as his writing style. He also discusses such topics as the nature of contemporary American poetry, some of its movements and practitioners, and the poetic process in general.

[Chris Wyrick:] Congratulations on the big prize! [The Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for The Simple Truth (1994)]

[Philip Levine:] Well, thank you. Yes. It's been a long time coming. But, you see, patience does pay off. Actually, I think it's better to get it when you're old. Ah, I'm happy to win it.

[George Weld:] I think now especially a lot of young writers feel a tension between the feeling that they need to be activists in their work for...