From a 2001 article, The Loveliness of Pigs, in the Christian Science Monitor:

Kinnell believes that poetry is inherently personal - it's one person's exploration of life, of what it means to be on earth. But, he adds, poets must take things more seriously. "You can no longer just fool around.... We need a deeper sense of the preciousness of our time here as conscious beings."

That consciousness has always been present in Kinnell's work. Whether he's writing about his family or describing the loveliness of sows, Kinnell's work reveals affection for creatures both great and small. Indeed, he claims that the "other animals are the angels. Human babies are the angels."

A pig as an angel?

"I try to see past the usual clichés about things," he smiles. " 'Pig' is a pejorative word, but if you get to know them, get a feeling for them, you see that they have an extraordinary beauty. When creatures don't have an extraordinary beauty, it's because the person in contact with them is not seeing it. I feel more and more in love with other creatures as I get older."

Some critics use the word "spiritual" to describe Kinnell's work, but that is not a word he would use. When he writes, he addresses his work "to being." He thinks in terms of accuracy, of capturing what seems to be truth in a particular moment and context. "It is almost as if the words are imitations of something else - shapes of reality."