Today’s Saturday Stumper

Today’s Newsday  Saturday Stumper, by Kate Chin Park, left me at a loss. And then I saw 23-D, eleven letters, “Big name in confessional poetry.”

Some more clue-and-answer pairs of note:

1-A, nine letters, “Develop a crush?” Oof.

5-D, six letters, “Worked, as much wood.” Kate Chin Park is a furniture maker and craftsperson.

9-D, nine letters, “A maize-ing creation.” Could it be CORNMAZE? No, it couldn’t.

11-D, eleven letters, “Bit of kid lit.” I like this answer, which is a reminder of what it’s like to grow as a reader.

13-D, five letters, “Endure no longer.” This seems like an odd forced note in a terrific puzzle.

21-A, seven letters, “Bubblegum kin.” My first thought was of music.

36-D, four letters, “Rodin’s thinker.” A carefully worded clue.

41-A, four letters, “Commencement wear usually bought.” I didn’t know about this.

53-A, seven letters, “Matter of opinion.” Just one example of why I was grateful for 23-D.

54-D, four letters, “What an Eliot novel isn’t about.”Clever.

65-A, five letters, “Whom a Congressional caucus has advocated for since 2021.” I didn’t know about this either.

My favorite in this puzzle: 37-A, fifteen letters, “Erstwhile home for a paper tiger.”

No spoilers; the answers are in the comments.