[New-Poetry] CD Wright's body count

[ts mclain]

I wanted to correct my error on the Ginsberg. That should have been "Wichita
Vortex Sutra".

On Sun, Jul 13, 2008 at 9:38 AM, ts mclain <tsmclain at gmail.com> wrote:

> For me, the "numbingly weak" is a constant for almost all public poetry.
> Maybe that is part of its charm as well as its downfall. I agree that when
> you hitch up to a cause, you can be granted more of that gravitas just
> because people are so impressed you said exactly what they wished they had
> said. Like bumper stickers, these poems do not age well and they eventually
> reduce the value of the vehicle attached to the bumper.
>
> Who are good issue poets? I am curious what others think on this. In my
> limited readings on social issue poems, I liked many parts of Ginsberg's
> "Wichita Diamond Sutra" and I just read it forty years after it was written.
> Crane's "War is Kind" also has some nice sections. But both would look
> different if they were edited today. How about Yeats' topical/political
> poetry? I was never moved by it but it was fun to pick apart in the
> classroom. Generally, if the language used doesn't move me or create some
> tension, then I don't see the poem getting off to very good start.
>
> I haven't read much of C.D.Wright, but I do find that she is always about
> language. I don't see her as being as polemical as the worst of the issues
> poets can be. Maybe it shows my ingnorance, but I think the whole issue
> about the penal system in Arkansas is largely unexplored, as recent PBS
> shows on the de facto slavery resulting from post Civil War Jim Crow laws
> suggests. Having heard her talk about this book last Spring, I got the
> distinct impression that she was after more than just finger-pointing or
> patronizing the victims. That doesn't make for a good book, necessarily. But
> I am curious. Although, the limited edition is a little pricey.
>
> On Thu, Jul 3, 2008 at 8:48 PM, John Jeffrey <jjeffreymail at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Jeez.  Someone uses the term "politically correct" and gets a couple of
>> "Bullshit"s thrown back at him?  And, more interestingly, the Bullshiters
>> then claim that the phrase "politically correct" is the "lowest denominator
>> of criticism" or that it's not "descriptive"?  Well ain't that just the crap
>> calling the cliché stinky.
>>
>> What's the name of this list again?
>>
>>
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----
>> From: Bob Grumman <bobgrumman at nut-n-but.net>
>> To: "NewPoetry: Contemporary Poetry News & Views" <
>> new-poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu>
>> Sent: Thursday, July 3, 2008 7:50:54 PM
>> Subject: Re: [New-Poetry] CD Wright's body count
>>
>>
>>
>> Suzanne Burns wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> On Wed, Jul 2, 2008 at 1:36 PM, Bob Grumman <bobgrumman at nut-n-but.net>
>> wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Roger Day wrote:
>>>
>>>> "politically correct": the lowest denominator of criticism these days.
>>>> Something you don't like?
>>>>
>>>
>>> It's a descriptive term whose meaning everyone knows, Roger.
>>
>>
>> I disagree.  It ceased to be a descriptive term a long, long time ago.
>> What is became is a It's a great big rubber stamp one slaps down to dismiss,
>> trivialize, and above all silence any discussion of a political or social
>> issue (especially if it concerns women) one does not want to hear about.
>>
>> I too call bullshit. If you don't like CD Wrights work, fine, but please
>> say something real.
>>
>> Suzanne Burns
>>
>>
>> I can't remember exactly what I said, but it was more or less that
>> mediocre poets whose political outlook mirrors the outlook of the liberal
>> establishment--i.e., are politically correct (and I await a better term for
>> what I meant)--are the ones who get grants, as CD Wright has.  My
>> implication was that the political stance, which should be irrelevant,
>> counts.
>>
>> --Bob G.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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>>
>
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