On Fri, 14 May 1999, K.M. Sutherland wrote:
> I find this prejudicial, an affected good disposition.
> It is not necessary, in order to discover new and various work that we can
> admire, for us to believe beforehand that we -ought- to make such a
> discovery.
- how "affected good disposition"? One might, on a kind of
benefit-of-the-doubt principle, at least start by thinking the good
disposition genuine, as it can be, and even, if we're to go on listening
to each other, a necessity. And, as I read it, there's a certain
cart-before-horseness about your second sentence: the discoveries are
there to be made (happily) - we might not go out rosey-visioned to seek
them, but we won't find them if we take a stance predjudicial to their
discovery. I'm not by any means setting myself up as an expert in
rangeology here, simply as a goal which has rewards when we pursue it.
I recognise too that your reference to the present war wasn't serving the
same purpose as my reference. Sorry if my ref. struck you as off-limits
somehow. However, a great narrowness-of-approach is there, very much to
the fore, in the evolution of the conflict, and the conduct of it. I
didn't, as a matter of fact, seek to link it to the anthology discussion,
other than as another aspect of the narrowness which - you'll have
gathered - I fear so much, in all its aspects. But when you say:
> More commonly the inferred connection is between
> eclectic taste in poetry and progessive identity politics
- you're making a connection which is quite a leap from anything I said.
I'd be reluctant to see such a common inferrence applied widely.
> have I misread you?
- the possibility is that we've misread each other, mate, and that you
aren't as monodimensional as you sometimes appear to me from your
arguments, and I'm not as waffy do-good liberal as you're reading me. I'm
caricaturing both our positions here, by the way. Why don't we just watch
and wait a bit?
(muffled cheers from other list members)
Anyway I'm off to Zagreb now, back next wednesday. Have fun, everyone!
RC
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