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On Sat, 16 Sep 2000, Jon Corelis wrote... >Interview with a Gentleman Jon, I enjoyed this greatly, though sometimes I found it was *guilty* enjoyment that I was experiencing. In many ways the Gentleman seems the brother of the Kipling of "If", though I don't suppose you intended a straightforward recapitulation of that poem. There are certainly ironies, but I found it difficult to decide where they were. That's not a problem - it adds to the interest of the poem. Some of the sentiments the Gentleman expresses are straightforward and admirable, some are pompous and clichéd, and the ending is of course extremely sexist. That ending is very important, because the rest is seductively agreeable, and one might go along with it more or less unquestioningly. But then one reads the Gentleman's treatment of women as (mere) objects of desire, and goes back to reconsider the other replies more critically. And then one starts to think about the Interviewer and his choice of questions, and wonders about the relationship between the two, and perhaps if the Gentleman himself is being ironic and having a joke at the Interviewer's expense. All these aspects are kept nicely ambiguous. If I were an editor, I'd publish the poem. Best, -- Peter http://www.hphoward.demon.co.uk/poetry/ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%