While I certainly don't think the poem is full of "determined misogyny," or any kind of misogyny, the reviewer can't be faulted for singling out "Millay's Child" for strong criticism. I think it's one of the weaker in the volume, mainly because it fails to get across what I wanted it to be about--not abortion, but the human price paid to pursue art. I disagree with Jeremy Telman's analysis of the poem, but I can see how he got there, and that's my fault.
Like the reviewer, I hope readers will also move on to the other poems to get a better sense of my poetry.
Overall, I thought the review was very favorable and I was thrilled to have such close and intelligent attention paid to my poems.
--Robert Crawford
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