Dear Michael Lind,
I am a subscriber to Poetryetc, a very active 300-or so member listserv that
is managed by the prominent poet John Kinsella. Recently, a copy of your
article in Prospect magazine on American poetry was posted to the list, and
it has caused quite a bit of discussion. By and large, the reaction has been
decidedly negative-- in short, and to be frank (in the spirit of frankness
you yourself display in the Prospect piece), the general consensus at
Poetryetc has been that your essay is not only riddled with errors of fact,
but that its historical and axiological simplicities lead to conclusions
about poetic form and value that are wildly obtuse in nature. (I assure you
that this evaluation has nothing to do with your former political
allegiances.)
While the above broad characterization of your essay also reflects my own
view of it, I have pointed out on the list that, to be fair, you *do* make
certain points that are hard to argue with, ones that might be the starting
common ground for an interesting exchange of views. And I've suggested, too,
that the stark terms in which you pose the issues in your article seem,
almost, to be requesting challenge in return. It's in the spirit of
hoped-for lively polemic, then, that I am writing to invite you to join
Poetryetc so that you might have the chance to answer some questions and
comments from people who --like you, we presume-- care passionately about
poetry and its controversies.
So enough of catapulting flaming balls of tar from behind balkanized
cultural journals, raw and cooked alike! Enough of all that, don't you
agree? Let's get down and do some Greco-Roman wrestling, in the same writing
room (its ceiling chiseled with Horatian choriambics and Ginsbergian
alcaics), naked and in person! It's possible, we feel, that such an event
may even stimulate prominent others from anciently warring poetic camps to
join in, and to the enlightened benefit of all. In fact, if you are
interested in this proposal, we would encourage you to ask other "New
Formalist" poets to join in...
Sorry to have gotten carried away in the above paragraph. This *is* a
serious letter...
You can write me back with a yes or no, or you can simply subscribe by
following the alphabetical links at the Jiscmail web site.
Hope you'll join us in the ring. We are are a motley and diverse lot, with a
few academic beatniks among us, even, but we might be able to learn you a
thing or two about poesy. And who knows, you may win, after all, and end up
"writing us out of the cultural picture," or whatever it is you said
somewhere that you like to do to your "opponents". Anyway...
and for many of the members at Poetryetc (though certainly not all),
Kent Johnson
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