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> i recall listening to John at the melbourne writer's festival, & he > expressed amazement at poets who confessed that they didn't read other > poets. this he stated after referring to Gig Ryan's comment that John uses > his influences as an 'amulet'. this paragraph seems an extension of those > concerns. > > what's that o'hara poem where he says 'i read because i'm a writer'? > > reason enough for me. > > regards > > will If I can slip on an editorial hat here, it seems from the contents of my mailbox that almost none of my would-be first-time contributors have ever read another poem in their lives, or at least not since they finished A-level English. Depressing. I can also think of some well-published and long-standing poets who also haven't read anything by anyone of a younger generation, but I'll leave their names unsaid... Tony