It was definitely a real tacky read. Generalised sneering. And he was
accusing Graham of being blurry.
I'm a little agnostic on Graham, myself, although folks of my
acquaintance think she's the ants pants. OK, different strokes, etc. I
don't mind blurry, even ornate blurry, there's a 'me-ness' in the work
I react against. But the insinuations in the article appear to stem
from something else, at this distance, or am I missing something?
'Overlord' sounded kinda (just kinda) interesting.
Jill
On Monday, April 25, 2005, at 10:03 AM, Alison Croggon wrote:
> My only thought on reading it was, "the knives are out". I don't know,
> I
> find articles like this depressing; the breathless idea of an
> "impossibly
> glamorous and romantic" youth and then the sneer at it. The idea that
> poetry is "primarily an academic art". (Maybe it is in the US, but
> that's
> an easy sort of put down generalisation which means - what?)
>
> I guess what's notable is the allowance that Graham's poetry is "good",
> balanced by all sorts of personal skewering. It reads sneaky and
> insinuating. Personally, I'm a little agnostic on her work; I've only
> read a
> couple of books, and that years ago, and I can't remember it especially
> striking me, although I remember I found it interesting. I didn't
> return,
> but that is probably as much about me as about her poetry. I'd probably
> appreciate a precise critique of her work, but this isn't it; it's
> much more
> about toppling some kind of crown off her head.
>
> Best
>
> A
>
> On 25/4/05 6:18 AM, "Kenneth Wolman" <[log in to unmask]>
> wrote:
>
>> Interesting to see what you will make of this, esp. David Orr's tone
>> toward his subject. There is also, glancing at Foetry, a suggestion
>> that a great many of Ms. Graham's students tend to win contests she's
>> judging. Of course there is more, specifically an estimate of Graham
>> herself as writer.
>>
>> http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/books/review/24ORRL.html
>>
>> By the way, I assume Orr did not write the headline to the column.
>> It's
>> called "Jorie Graham, Superstar." Don't ask.
>>
>> Ken
>
>
>
> Alison Croggon
>
> Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
> Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
> Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
>
>
_______________________________________________________
Jill Jones
Latest books:
Broken/Open. Available from Salt Publishing
http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/smp/1844710416.htm
Where the Sea Burns. Wagtail Series. Picaro Press
PO Box 853, Warners Bay, NSW, 2282. [log in to unmask]
Struggle and radiance: ten commentaries (Wild Honey Press)
http://www.wildhoneypress.com
web site: http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~jpjones
blog1: Ruby Street http://rubystreet.blogspot.com/
blog2: Latitudes http://itudes.blogspot.com/
|