The very first poems in the book were written nearly 10 years ago — the first two were published in 2009, one in the Yale Review, the other in the Harvard Review. (bookpage.com)
«First poem in the third grade,» Carl Andre recalled in 1963. (artforum.com)
Another change in those years was that, after an unduly delayed, major operation for appendicitis, I began to write poetry, writing the first poem in the hospital itself. (religion-online.org)