[New-Poetry] Heaney, Oxford & beyond

[Anny Ballardini]

And John M. Bennett is a gentleman. As much as Seamas Cain, and Jerome
Rothenberg, columns of my unwavering belief in Man.
Why not a woman, Rae Armantrout, for example?

They might be listening, they might...


On Sat, May 30, 2009 at 8:58 PM, Bob Grumman <bobgrumman at nut-n-but.net>wrote:

> David Graham wrote:
>
>> One of the small annoyances once you've picked up your prize in Stockholm
>> is that people will be sticking a microphone in your face the rest of your
>> life, seeking opinion if not wisdom.  Tad's right:  Heaney expressed an
>> unexceptional idea to an interviewer, and who cares it's not "The Circus
>> Animals' Desertion"?
>> Heaney has been more than commonly gracious, as far as I can tell, in
>> fulfilling the public responsibilities of his role.  As smiling public men
>> go, he's better than most, now & in times past.
>>
>> I might just point out that what he said is quite sensible.  It would be
>> nice if folks at Oxford were swayed by his prestige to consider going a bit
>> *more* outside the usual box.  I suppose that colonial Walcott's selection
>> was one effort in that direction, as was Padel's.  Let's hope that the
>> current fiasco doesn't put the kibosh on such mildly creative thinking for
>> the next 300 years.
>>
>> One suggestion, if you're listening, O Oxfordians:  Linton Kwesi Johnson.
>>
> As I hope my follow-ups show, David, I pretty much agree with the
> above--except everyone-knows-how.  What if Heaney went out of all geometry
> and suggested John M. Bennett for the position?  Bennett out-frizzles all
> but the craziest language poets, but is also a leading visual poet, sound
> poet, translator of poetry, occasional writer on poetry, publisher and
> editor of poetry, curator of avant garde poetry collections, and
> anthologist. It might make poetry people see how small the boxes are that
> they are being prodded to enter from even smaller boxes. Not that it'd
> entice them to want Bennett in the position, but it might help them to
> accept a poet whose poetry, as opposed to place of birth or gender, is not
> entirely standard (however effectively so).
>
> --Bob
>
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-- 
Anny Ballardini
http://annyballardini.blogspot.com/
http://www.fieralingue.it/modules.php?name=poetshome
http://www.lulu.com/content/5806078
http://www.moriapoetry.com/ebooks.html
I Tell You: One must still have chaos in one to give birth to a dancing
star!
Friedrich Nietzsche
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