What has any poet to trust more than the feel of the thing? Theory concerns him only until he picks up his pen, and it begins to concern him again as soon as he lays it down.

Cifelli. Children's poems. ") He was popular enough and interesting enough to warrant a pair of appearances in the early 1960s on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

John Anthony Ciardi (pronounced /ˈtʃɑrdiː/ CHAR-dee; Italian: [ˈtʃardi]) (June 24 1916 – March 30 1986) was an American poet translator and etymologist. While primarily known as a poet he also translated Dante's Divine Comedy wrote several volumes of children's poetry pursued etymology contributed to the Saturday Review as a columnist and long-time poetry editor and directed the Bread Loaf Writers' Conference in Vermont.