I arrived at Civitella with no set agenda, no project which I’d conceived in advance.  I had recently finished a book of poems, and while I had written one or two new things since the book’s publication, I was not feeling particularly engaged by my work.  I thought that my time in Italy would offer a number of pleasant distractions of the predictable kind—food, scenery, art, picturesque cities and towns and some time to read and reflect.  Almost immediately after arriving, I started to write poems.  My usual requirement—a combination of mild boredom and anxiety—were available in just the right proportions, and there were no responsibilities or obligations blocking my path.  I wrote both quickly and over long periods of time.  Each day I would wake up, make my small, bitter pot of coffee and think that today would be a fallow day to catch up on reading.  Instead, I found myself at my desk, writing and thinking about poems.  I leave Civitella with ten new poems, each of them rather long.  I have about a third of a new manuscript—perhaps even more than that.  This residency has allowed me to be productive, and it has been a boon to my career.  I am extremely grateful.