In college I read lots of "ars poetica", enough to be influenced and persuaded that it was worthwhile. Unfortunately, lots of good poets do not get around to this, for one reason or another. Dylan Thomas could not manage more than a poem-introduction for his collected verse, when John Brinnin at New Directions Press, asked him for a good preface. But he talked about poetics many times in pubs and such like. In other words, he was happy to go on record about his idea of poetry and must have thought it important to do this, if only through conversation. His life was very short, so something more substantial may have appeared, had he survived longer; given a second chance. E.E.Cummings has written some wonderful "poetica" and Robert Graves, W.H.Auden, also wrote many clever/thoughtful essays for their famed Oxford lectures and so on, because they were confident academics. A poet without much formal education, like Thomas, must have been shy to do the same. I, too, am shy to follow the "masters" - but here I go...