Poetry in the Crypt has been running for a number of years by some very good poet-organisers, and is one of the best and most vital of London's reading series. Its first event of 2010 features Linda Black, Andy Croft & Deborah Tyler-Bennett, 7 pm, Saturday, February 27th, at St Mary's Crypt, Upper Street, Islington, London N1 2TX. Part of what makes the series so enjoyable, apart from the unique subterranean location, is the hospitality offered - delicious cakes, coffee and tea - and the opportunity for readings from the floor. As well, the proceeds will go to Hospice Care Kenya, so the £4 admission will sting a little less.
When you open your mouth to speak, are you smart? A funny question from a great song, but also, a good one, when it comes to poets, and poetry. We tend to have a very ambiguous view of intelligence in poetry, one that I'd say is dysfunctional. Basically, it goes like this: once you are safely dead, it no longer matters how smart you were. For instance, Auden was smarter than Yeats , but most would still say Yeats is the finer poet; Eliot is clearly highly intelligent, but how much of Larkin 's work required a high IQ? Meanwhile, poets while alive tend to be celebrated if they are deemed intelligent: Anne Carson, Geoffrey Hill , and Jorie Graham , are all, clearly, very intelligent people, aside from their work as poets. But who reads Marianne Moore now, or Robert Lowell , smart poets? Or, Pound ? How smart could Pound be with his madcap views? Less intelligent poets are often more popular. John Betjeman was not a very smart poet, per se....
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