Strand claims that often he starts writing without anything specific in mind. What gets him started is the simple desire to write. Writing for him—as for the rest of the individuals discussed in this chapter—is a necessity, like swimming for a fish or flying for a bird. The theme of the poem emerges in the writing, as one word suggests another, one image calls another into being. This is the problem-finding process that is typical of creative work in the arts as well as the sciences.
