On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft

King reflects on his marriage, noting some of the similarities between him and Tabitha: “We came from similar working-class backgrounds, we both ate meat, we were both political Democrats with typical Yankee suspicions of life outside New England” (62). They are most strongly tied, however, by language and their literary work. He falls in love with her during a poetry workshop in the fall of 1969 because he understands the purpose of her work.

King includes one of Tabby’s poems, which she read in the workshop, and “[h]er poem made [King] feel that [he] wasn’t alone in [his] belief that good writing can be simultaneously intoxicating and idea driven (64). They connect over their understanding of the work and how to conceptualize it.

Over the first three years of their marriage, Tabby gives birth to Naomi and Joe. King is at a drive-in movie when Tabby goes into labor with Joe, and the manager announces this over the loudspeaker. King drives home and takes Tabby to the hospital for a three-hour-labor. Both of his kids are “a treat” (67).

King gets his teaching certificate from the College of Education at UMO, but he is unable to find a teaching job. He begins working at the Franklin Laundry, earning little more than he did at the mill.