Re: JDS the Poet

citycabn (citycabn@gateway.net)
Wed, 17 Feb 1999 10:23:36 -0800

I must say I enjoyed and agreed with nearly all of Brendan's *overheated
opinion[s].*  I believe I have posted a few of my own during my short time
with bananafish.

I am not in favor of "sloppy emotions on the page" beyond the age of 25.
Brendan might be  being a little too harsh with a cutoff of college, which I
take to be 22. (Certainly, I am not in favor of sloppy emotions at the age
of 48. I hope my Waiting for Issa's Snail wasn't just that; but, yes, I know
it wasn't a real haiku or emphatically not a real double-haiku.   It was
intended as a *return* post after the hiatus of nearly a month.   Believe
me, I know there are no *real poems* hiding here under my roof.)  I am in
favor of a 7-year apprenticeship before wanting to see one's name in print.
(For the brave, see my January posts [though rants might be more accurate].)

Yes, it is not Whitman's, cummings' or any other real poet's fault that an
avalance of imitations follows their work.  But I think I would pause and
ponder awhile with the statement "grow into an aesthetic sense that tells
them they aren't any good at it, or perhaps aren't willing to do the
God-damn hard work that poetry requires."  I fear one young real-poet-to-be
might read Brendan's post and give up *too soon*.  One might not be any good
at it for quite awhile.  But, yes, this hypothetical young poet had better
be willing to do "the God-damn hard work" for the distance.

"There's no way Salinger could pull it off [write poems at a Seymour level]
although I'm confident he has tried."
I am of two minds re Brendan's statement.  First, yes, never really *at the
level of the fictional Seymour.*  *That*  level, as far as I know, has never
made it into print.  For the fictional Seymour is, oh, forget it.  Just
reread S:an I,  instead.   But, given JDS has had 40 years since publishing
S:an I, and recalling some of the let's-just-say-incredible passages in
especially S:an I (*my* favorite piece of writing by JDS) I think he could,
with tenacity, find another Muse of Absolute Joy on his shoulder and record
some great stuff.  However, I wouldn't be completely truthful in this, if I
didn't say that Hapworth does not give me as much hope as I would like to
have.

And finally, the question of the state of  contemporary American poetry.  I
could go on for pages on this, but will compress it into:  Yes, *way too
much stuff in print that belongs in the writer's drawer or wastebasket.*
Amongst the *living*, I personally like Jack Gilbert, Stan Rice and Galway
Kinnell.  Of course there are others, but it is hard to find them.  Brendan,
I will check out Pinsky.  Any particular volume?