Host(s): William Heyen and Anthony Piccione
Tape order number: VF-30
Visit Date: October 16, 1974
Length: 1 hour
Brief Summary: Hugo discusses the importance of place in his writing, and says that regionalism is the testing of one's life against the weather and the landscape of a place. He doesn't seek to tell the truth about the outer world; rather, he plays off it in search of some truth about himself. he says that the characters in his poems are more a psychological manifestation of his efforts toward self-acceptance than they are willed personae; poetry, more than prose, allows him to explore his darker side. Hugo also talks at length about his time in Italy.
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I believe . . . all poets are regionalists, and have been for at least a couple of centuries.
-- Richard Hugo
