I showed that link to a friend of mine who is knowledgeable in
contemporary british poetics (James Midgley, runs the poetry magazine
mimesis), and I quote:
"Funny you should link that article. It's been passing hands a lot
since it was posted and I'm still not sure how I feel about it.
I've met A-M F and she seemed very nice. But at the end of the day
this is simply a case of someone saying 'I like these poets', with a
side-order of 'look how great contemporary poetry is!'. The upshot is
the list is limited and very skewed, especially as all the poets are
drawn (I think) from the regular performers at the Troubadour. I
suppose part of it is a kind of necessary evil -- part of the poetry
PR machine blindly taking any opportunity it can to ingratiate itself
with what is seen to be a largely apathetic audience. The Guardian as
a venue has its own slants on everything as well, of course, though I
couldn't say what those are exactly. I can't speak as to the quality
of the poets involved, as I've not actually been exposed to much of
their writing. But it's a fair bet that, regardless of the quality of
their poetry, there is something else at work that makes them
attractive from a PR standpoint -- maybe their connections, or they
are generally likeable, or good readers, or tireless self-promoters,
or tireless promoters of others, or x y and z. In the end it has as
much to do with miscellaneous availability of their personalities as
it does with the poems they write. Whether this is any different (any
more exaggerated) today to how it was in the past, I couldn't say. I
suspect it probably takes place to a greater degree."
KS
2008/5/26 Robin Hamilton <[log in to unmask]>:
>> I notice no-one has actually said anything about the article in question.
>
> I read it, dave -- blah, a list of names, and no quotations, so what's to
> say?
>
>> Michael Hoffman of course has nothing to do with the class system. It
>> is natural that public school pupils figure so much in the culture
>> industry and, I repeat, has nothing to do with class.
>
> MH is indeed a class to himself. I once sat through a 30 minute workshop he
> gave, and spent 28 minutes of it writing notes for a poem. He was virtually
> inaudible, which was probably as well since the few phrases I caught would
> have made more sense if they had been unintelligible.
>
> On the evening of the same day, I actually managed to sit through a reading
> he gave. Again totally inaudible. Which was more than another member of
> this list who was with me did, preferring to leave at the interval spitting
> blood.
>
> Even Aged Etonians, so I'm told, prefer to cross the road rather than risk
> being accosted by him.
>
> As hard cases make bad law, let's just leave Michael Hoffman where he
> belongs.
>
> R.
>
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