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It's often misread - as some sort of "with a hammer" riposte to entrenched British poetic positions; it's not meant to be. It is meant to get people thinking - particularly about the ethics of poetry in all its aspects, from publishing, to editing, to reviewing - even if that means being, at times, a gadfly. I'd say there is fear in a handful of poets in the UK trying to move up in the mainstream ranks, who know that there are elements within British poetry who do not permit much opposition. It's chilling. It was like this with Pound-Eliot; it was like this in the days of Alvarez (he despised it then); it's that way now, too.
So, I try and write fairly, freely, truly - and accordingly, this unsettles people, some people, in poetry. It shouldn't. Poetry's house is in disorder when speaking openly is considered unwise. The good news? There's more innovative, original, fresh, poetry being written, in Canada, or England, or Ireland (for instance) now than anytime previously. Will I keep updating this monumental waste of time, this blog? Stay tuned.
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