The non anxiety of influence

Heaney,

who is that rare thing, a good critic who is generous.

"When poets turn to the great masters of the past, they turn to an image of their own creation, one which is likely to be a reflection of their own artistic inclinations and procedures."

"At the desk every poet faces the same kind of task, that there is no secret that can be imparted, only resources of one's own that are to be mastered."