Stephen
I'm sure others here do know her work; I dont, beyond a few pieces Ive
seen over the last few years in place like the LRB. As I said, the one
from her book on her grandfather didnt interest me that much; it
could, in fact, be compared to Howe's use of historical documents. I
like Howe's play of form better, but an well imagine readers who find
Howe's poems opaque & Padel's open. My problem was that the piece I
saw felt like it would work better as plain prose.
I would agree with you that those who do like Howe actually think
about the work rather than the person.
Doug
On 27-May-09, at 11:38 AM, Stephen Vincent wrote:
> Has anyone here ever read a Padel poem that they genuinely like?
> I have never read one at all. Nor has her work ever been drawn to my
> attention. That may be my loss, but impulsively I suspect not.
> (Of course, in fairness, most of us here, no matter the quality or
> flaws of our work, also do not get much in the way of larger public
> attention and are, maybe, ignored 'impulsively' as well for the same
> or other reasons!)
> It seems to me that the personae of some poets primarily draws
> attention to their education, class background, etc. Other poets
> immediately pin-point the attention on the actual work. In the USA,
> for example, if you say, "Susan Howe", for example, the attention
> goes to the poems. The person, education etc. informs only from the
> margins of the work - not the center. Padel seems to focus on her
> pedigree as her strength. Boring.
>
> Stephen
Douglas Barbour
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