>Of course there are many (in absolute terms) good poets
>writing, but I really truly honestly feel that ninety per cent of the
>verse published in the standard print poetry venues, especially the
>more prestigious ones, is simply not worth reading.
It all comes out in the wash, Jon. Why now we read Hopkins and not
Bridges. Ours is only the trying, the rest is not our business. &c. I
am absolutely unsure what you can say is an "absolute term" in judging
poetry: the most reliable tool I've come across is extreme subjectivity.
But that, alas, is by its nature very far from absolute.
I have an intriguing little volume called iffin's Poetical Works, with
the flyleaf missing so the poet remains forever mysterious (unless
someone here knows better). It was printed sometime last century, and I
have often used it as an aid to sleep, because it amuses me in an idle
sort of way. It's full of poems called "Fare Thee Well, My Native Dell"
or "O'Brazil, The Isle Of The West". iffin really did believe in The
Muse, but it didn't seem to help him much. There have always been
iffins. Often they were very popular. So what?
Alison
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