Randolph asked Finegan:
>What would you regard as an acceptable number of books for a poet to
publish?
If I can chime in. I would say at least thirteen. It is only upon
reaching thirteen that one can say in one's author bio, "He/She has
published more than a dozen books." It is the "more" that is all
important. The "more" is silver coin in the process of cultural capital
accumulation.
After twelve, the only feasible number (one cannot say, for example,
"She has published more than fourteen books") is twenty one: "He/She has
publihsed more than twenty books."
So I would say either thirteen or twenty one is acceptable. The next
number would be thirty one, but only John Ashbery has published more
than thirty books of poetry.
Kent
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