Hwaet:
I got three review copies in the mail today from a press.
So, I mean, that's friggin awesome, right? I am movin' on up to the East Side and all that. Woo! I'm the next Silliman (but I write "real poems"!)! Wooo!!
But. . .
The books suck. There's one book of prose "poems" and then two books of lineated prose. Nothing to recommend them other than nice covers.
I don't even want to provide links because, well, the books don't really deserve it -- and I wouldn't want you to buy them thinking they were full of poetry.
Conversely, I don't want to savage them in a review -- because 1) none of these books are by famous poets who need to be told "hey man, your work is crap" and 2) I'd really like more review copies -- I even will be glad to do reviews for books I like (or at least link to books that are not bad).
So send your reviews!
And let me know in the comments section if you think I'm off my nut.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Movin on up b/w a Conundrum
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3 comments:
Who are the 20 multicultural poets who actually don't mean much to you, but who you should really say have had a profound influence on you or else you will lose your standing; repeat for women; repeat for poets of small languages; repeat for people in your life who you should love immensely but really don't care about much.
THEN, you would be Ron Silliman.
//But. . .
The books suck. There's one book of prose "poems" and then two books of lineated prose. Nothing to recommend them other than nice covers.//
That's the rub isn't it...
I don't know if any press will ever consider sending me review copies, but I would only be interested in poems using forms, metrical, rhythmic, rhetorical or otherwise.
That way, I might get two, maybe three books a year.
You should take a look at my last post on poetry and style. I would think it would be right down your alley.
I glanced at Silliman's "Alphabet" in the bookstore. I can't fathom what audience is going to read the stuff.
I also can't fathom what publisher invested in the book. It's expensive to put out books like that. Never mind that there's no way they're going to recover expenses. The whole publishing industry baffles me. They will publish stuff like that and then whine that there is no money in poetry.
Makes me want to hit them up side the head with a waffle iron.
Duh.
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