SOURCE: "Muse of Danger," in "Lighting up the Terrain": The Poetry of Margaret Avison, edited by David Kent, ECW Press, 1987, pp. 144-49.

In the essay below, Avison discusses poetry writing, focusing on language, form, and religion.

The impulse to write a poem occurs in human context—and can be a pulsation in darkness or in light. Poetry in itself is neither "evil" nor "good," in other words.

No fool-proof formula exists for using a poetic impulse to God's glory. The child of God claims the victory of Christ, and yet lives embattled from moment to moment, falling often and constantly knowing no power except through forgiveness. Even so the believer can dedicate his gifts and acknowledge God as their source, and yet can experience much daily struggle in using them. As with poetry itself, the writer of poetry is neither "evil" nor "good," in other words.

Such expressions...