I didn’t go out last night, preferring to sit at home with my computer, trying to write a poem or a piece of prose, trying to find a sincere voice. I’m thinking of that sincere voice vs. one that is created and pushed but that still somehow becomes convincing. How is such a voice created? Is it an impressive artistic achievement to create a voice, or are writers always searching for their “true” voice? And, if it is a true voice, how does poetic language emerge, how does metaphor emerge? I’m thinking of K-Ming Chang describing how she casts a spell on every sentence to transform it. There is something in that that resonates with me. I can see the spells she cast, but do I cast my own spells, and is there a creative energy in what I do? Am I “creating”?