[New-Poetry] 100 Poets You Should Know

[JforJames at aol.com]

Certainly the list is subjective, an visibilty is based on one line of  
sight. The list is an invitation, for those so moved, to suggest and lobby for  
other choices, as you have. Also, 100 is an arbitrary round number. Could  easily 
balloon to 105, 1120,,,
 
 I think my choices of Bob Holman and Patricia Smith are good ones for  the 
performance vein of American poetry. Wakefield has flown under my  radar; but 
Algarin makes sense to me. Berrigan, Eshleman, Rothenberg, Padgett,  all good 
choices for the Jason 100.
Finnegan
 
In a message dated 11/22/2007 12:16:37 AM Eastern Standard Time,  
jfq at myuw.net writes:

It's an  interesting point. The question I'd like to ask you is visible 
to whom? If  you're talking about contemporary performance poetry, they 
don't get much  more visible than Buddy Wakefield or Miguel Algarin. Tom 
Raworth, while  not particularly visible on this side of the atlantic, is 
more visible in  Great Britain than I think a number of the people on 
your list are. I'll  withdraw the suggestion though and in his place 
offer Jim Carroll: the  only living american poet of import to have 
penned a alternative rock  anthem; one that still gets airplay on 
independent "underground" and  alternative radio. Plus there was a movie 
about him, which is something  you can't say about Jorie Graham, thank 
Christ. I didn't notice this was  an american list. As for anthologies, I 
think it depends on whose  anthologies you read. I don't know for sure, 
but I'd be willing to bet  Clayton Eshleman and Jerome Rothenberg have 
more anthologies between them,  both as editors and as poets and 
translators than a good portion of your  list combined. Anselm Berrigan, 
aside from being brilliant and a blood  heir to the New York School also 
is still the director of the Poetry  Project at St. Mark's Place, which 
as far as I know is the longest running  spoken word series on the east 
coast.

As for Ron Padgett, true,  he's maybe not the most visible figure and is 
maybe an emotional choice.  but nevertheless he's one of the few poets 
I've ever memorized, and I  think I probably own more anthologies that 
he's in than I do anthologies  that Maya Angelou is in. But then, I don't 
generally buy THOSE kind of  anthologies. So yeah, I guess he can go too. 
Still, i think he's a poet  everyone should know.

Nothing in that drawer


 



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