Although she says that "all poets are not good in the classroom," Forche loves teaching. "I need the human contact. I don't thrive on long periods of isolation. Teaching also helps me to explore things that later go into my written work."

So she and her husband live in Washington, D.C., seven miles from the White House. She commutes to New York; he teaches in Baltimore. But they are together on weekends and during the summers.

"You never know with certainty whether you have written a good poem," said Forche. "I know the feeling of exhilaration when it comes to me. Yet, after time has passed, you still don't know if it's any good."

Forche changes her mind about a poem overnight, and she does multiple revisions. "Artists are always dissatisfied, always looking ahead, always reaching for something."

When reading her poetry to audiences, which she will do in Salt Lake City next weekend, her "greatest fear is that the audience will be bored. I don't overdramatize when I read, but I do it interpretively.

"I enjoy giving readings and consider it an art. Some poets can perform, while others are better on the page. For me, it's an experience in theater. I feel it when the audience is engaged."

Her most recent work is "Blue Hour" (2004), and Forche will read several new — as yet unpublished — poems when she comes to Utah.

If you go

What: Utah Poetry Festival

Where: The Airport Hilton Hotel, 5151 Wiley Post Way

When: Friday, 7 p.m.

Phone: 484-3113

Also: Friday and Saturday workshops for members of the Poetry Society

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E-mail: dennis@desnews.com