on 6/2/01 7:49 AM, Candice Ward at [log in to unmask] wrote:

> JK's very interesting Sydney Morning Herald piece of Jan. 27th speaks very
> much to this atmosphere in Australian poetic politics these days (as his
> title alone--"Poets Cornered"--indicates)


Candice,

I would be very careful of taking opinion as gospel. To take just one
instance - there are some poets to whom I've spoken recently in Sydney who
are puzzled and bemused by much of the above article - indeed would love to
know, for instance, who the 'Sydney group of poets' referred to in said
article actually is. All of us, who in many ways are like chalk and cheese,
except we happen to be friends, knew that we weren't in this group (did we
look worried - I don't think so) and apart from the 'names' that were
mentioned in the article couldn't actually think of a particular 'group' of
Sydney poets. (Yes, there are organisations but a group? Are we talking The
Movement here?

There are, mind you, an awful lot of poets in Sydney as there are elsewhere,
there are readings, there are friendships (and old scores) of an
intellectual, sexual and collegial nature. And, nup, we don't feel
'cornered' - we write, we meet up and talk/argue, some of us organise
events/launches, some of us work or have worked in the arts bureaucracies or
have been office bearers in poetry groups, some of us have been in small
press publishing. Perhaps because we don't get 'named' we can just get on
with it and agree to disagree with each other about what 'it' is. I wouldn't
think there's anything special about this - I'm sure it happens everywhere.

But there are always many versions of the so-called poetry scene anywhere,
including Australia, and one insider's version will differ from the next
insider as that will differ to that of the outsider. But *none* should be
taken as gospel. Even my reporting is just from an odd assortment of poets -
but we have been round for a long time here so we might just know something,
or at least as much as the next person. All grist for the mill. I wonder
what poets from other states in Australia may have made of all this.

Cheers,
Jill



_________________________________
Jill Jones
50 Ruby Street
Marrickville NSW 2204
AUSTRALIA

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http://homepages.ihug.com.au/~jpjones