On Sun, 18 Feb 2001, david.bircumshaw wrote:
> > > > Everyone who cared about
> > > > poetry in 1667 knew that PL was the thing,
> > >
> > > Really? Everyone? Were you there?
> >
> > The London literary world was a very small place and Milton had been
> > central to it for decades. The sales of PL weren't all that bad,
> > though disappointing to the poet and the bookseller, who may have been
> > the chief instigator of the move from 10 to 12 books and the addition
> > of the arguments.
>
>
> Without wanting to dwell too much on this, David, it's the identification,
> now as then, with the small world of the London literary with 'everyone who
> cared about poetry' I question.
I should have said "English literary world"--I don't think this is a wen
versus fen issue.
>
> Other than that, the success of the mediocre is precisely that which
> obscures original new work. MacDiarmid has a pithy: 'Talent is the enemy of
> poetry'.
I'd have to think about that, since it implies that in the absence of the
mediocre the very audience that when given a choice chooses mediocrity
would all of a sudden acquire better taste.
D. Latane
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