Wednesday, 8 June 2011
More Mayhem In Poetryville
Wow. First the PBS gets cut and now the Poetry Society is in turmoil, much like it was during the 70s when the British Poetry Revival poets briefly held sway there. In fact, the Poetry Society seems to gyrate like Gyro Gearloose, between staid blandness (the Georgian period) or some form of creative upheaval. Not a bad thing, perhaps. At any rate, blessedly, Eyewear has no opinion on this internecine struggle at the PS, because it has no insider news to report or base an opinion on.
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"According to sources, it is because Fiona Sampson, editor of the Poetry Review, the magazine overseen by the Society, had asked for autonomy from the director, and has been pushing the focus of the society from education to promoting high-profile poets."
ReplyDeleteCome again? I'm pretty sure that's not why members pay £40 a year for. Membership fees shouldn't be used to help increase the incomes of a select few but to benefit poetry as a whole.
This new 'focus' doesn't surprise me. Pick up an issue of Poetry Review and you'll find it dominated by high-profile poets. The board of the organisation and its trustees are high-profile poets.
But here's the thing: the PS is funded with taxpayer cash. It should not be free to promote a select few but benefit poetry as a whole to get the most bang for our buck(s). To do so otherwise would be detrimental to us all.
Dear Todd
ReplyDeleteI agree one hundred per cent with Christian that British taxpayers' money should NOT be used to promote already high-profile poets. Morally, it's equivalent to giving generous tax breaks to the seriously rich. As I understand it, the Poetry Society was set up to help ALL poets and not simply a well-known handful.
Best wishes from Simon