Sir Andrew Motion, on BBC radio 4 this morning, explained his support for the campaign to place a stone for Ted Hughes in Poet's Corner, which culminates tonight in a ceremony, overseen by Seamus Heaney: powerful advocates indeed. Motion claims that "Hughes is one of the two or three greatest poets of the twentieth century" - which is a staggering claim, not easily substantiated. Yeats, Eliot, Stevens, Hardy, Thomas, Larkin, Auden, and indeed Plath, would be jostling for a place in that league table, I am sure (among others). But that is to carp, perhaps. Despite the fact that Hughes apparently led a destructive personal life it appears the final reward for "major" male poets in England is to be eternally lauded. Hughes is a large presence, and a strong influence on many younger poets, still - particularly due to the violence of his diction and syntax, and his unusual perspective on nature and animal life. In England, at least, it is now safe to say that Ted Hughes is one of the greats.
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. What do I mean by smart?
Comments
Yes, Ted wouldn't be in my top three either but I suppose he's worth a stone at Poets' Corner. Simon Armitage certainly seems to think so. It's funny how Ted has gradually metamorphosed from being a hate figure amongst feminists into a national treasure. What is certain is that there will never be another Ted and Sylvia type psycho-drama. Nowadays there are simply too many poets chasing too little attention.
Best wishes from Simon