Thanks cris - yes, Heaney's stalking about somewhere nearby, but is on
leave at present, so I've not been able to see him. Wonder how tall he
is. Grolier is, well, as you say. Not to miss its necessity - it IS the
only place round here (here broadly and specifically) at which to buy
unsellable books, having risked itself in stocking up on a lot of
(particularly N. American) curiosites - for which, much gratitude.
English stuff is conspicuously absent - there's Raworth, Doug Oliver,
Miles Champion (hi Miles), perhaps others I've missed, but little more.
Interesting how the Atlantic acts as a kind of filter for English poetry;
I wonder, browsily, what leads certain books to end up here, and why so
many are miles away and muted. Obviously the profile of the press
contributes, as does the 'name' of the perpetrator, but both of these
things are secondary, themselves arising as a result of the poetry's
qualities. Is it that certain qualities (which?) are more exportable, or
fit for the US? Does anyone think that taste is radically varied
according to geography (rather than just accidentally), and that the locus
of a writer's likely success is therefore somehow 'naturally'
circumscribed? Not that I imagine any of the three above-mentioneds to be
peculiarly exportable, etc. It does seem that fortunes vary: I've
encountered little positive regard for Pope, over here; much more (at
least in a popular, sales-oriented sense) than in England for, say, Rilke.
Hapless and randomised examples. But maybe there're astuter comparisons
to be made, maybe even for a nameless, as far as possibly
decontextualised, contemporary text - would 'the American' view differ
radically? Not sure how we could find out, it'd be interesting if shown
to be relevant in any manner beyond the obvious. Anyhow, from musings to
a few pints. Have a good weekend, x, k.
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