----- Original Message -----
From: "Roger Day" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Thursday, November 17, 2005 11:19 AM
Subject: Re: Vixen's poem
Even "democratic" poetry deserves to be treated with respect doesn't it?
I believe in equality in the arts and in poetry: that all forms should
be given equal weight, that is, each poem has a unique form which to
me has equal value to all other forms, given or otherwise. That anyone
has the right to call themselves a poet; it's their practice that
matters, and practice is as wide as the sea and as deep. It's respect
not dignity that matters. That people want to call themselves poets is
healthy sign, that we are involved in something which still attracts
people whatever their motive, that we should be encouraging people
rather than throwing barriers up [1]. I would be worried if people
were actively distancing themselves from poetry; that's a sign of
decay, ask any political party. That poetry itself has equality with
all other art forms, that it has the right to slug it out with *any*
other art form rather than having any a priori claims to being a
"better" genre.
So there I am.
Roger
Nobody should ever call themselves a 'poet'. It is up to other people to do
that. I never think of myself as a poet for a moment and dont really know
why I am on this list. Inertia I suppose. I never even tell people I have
published anything cos it would give them the wrong idea that I actually was
somebody.
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