Peter Ludwin

My writing influences are multiple and varied. My long association with American folk music is one. A sense of music, rhythm and vividness of focus is important to me in terms of what I try to incorporate into my writing. Certainly the natural world, especially those parts of it that manifest immense space, is another major influence. It has for me a definite spiritual dimension.

As far as other poets, I would list Theodore Roethke, Rilke, Gary Snyder, James Dickey, James Wright, the critical essays of Robert Creeley and Robert Bly, some of Ezra Pound's writings, Federico Garcia Lorca, Pablo Neruda, Mark Doty and, most recently, the Chinese-American poet, Arthur Sze. The Spanish language poets have been especially important to me. The last four years I've participated in a week-long poetry workshop in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico--the single biggest boost to my writing I've had. Some of the instructors I've worked under include Mark Doty, Cornelius Eady, Forrest Gander, C.D. Wright, Alastair Reid, Marjorie Agosin, Alfred Corn and X.J. Kennedy. My poems have appeared in numerous journals, most prominently the Antitam Review, Chaminade Literary Review, Coal City Review, Illya's Honey, Karumu, Hurricane Review, Lullwater Review, Midwest Quarterly, Permafrost, Raven Chronicles, Lake Effect, Small Pond Magazine of Literature, South Carolina Review, South Dakota Review and Whiskey Island Magazine.