Marie Howe sees her work as an act of confession, conversation, prayer. She says simply, “Poetry is telling something to someone.” According to the distinguished poet Stanley Kunitz, Howe’s “telling” ...

“Why this one exception? The rite of penance, as the term rite indicates, is a liturgy. It’s an act of worship. It’s prayer for us. The seal of confession is essential to the rite because a penitent ...