Robert D GrappelMy journey to becoming a "serious" poet began during my freshman year in college at the University of Michigan. All of us "science nerds" were required to take at least one semester's credit of English to graduate. I was dead set that I would not wase my time in any freshman English course. Fortunately, the U. of M. honors college had a special program that would let a student take any course that was offered so long as the professor would accept you. I had dabbled with writing folk songs and parodies in high school, but with extreme nerve, I decided to sign up for a graduate-level course in poetry composition to satisfy my English requirement. I'm not sure why Professor Hall accepted me into his course, but I can tell you that his class was the hardest 'B' I've ever obtained in college - it made freshman Physics seem easy by comparison.Professor Donald Hall was the author of over 50 books across several genres from children's literature, biography, memoir, essays, and including 22 volumes of verse. He was the 14th Poet Laureate of the United States.In most bookstores, poetry books are shelved alphabetically by the author's name. My three thin volumes of original poetry are right there next to Donald Hall's many books. I wonder if he knew what he had started when he let a freshman enroll in his class in 1968. Read More Read Less