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Uncle Robin · 07-07-2021, 07:45 AM

Taking a small break from Heathcliff Lennox to start The Best American Poetry 2019 to complete another element of my 2021 Reading Challenge. Somewhat bemused and a little put off to discover that the prologue is a lengthy discussion about the death of poetry. Apparently, the fact that the powerful and privileged no longer have utterly untrammeled freedom of speech and freedom of consequences from that speech is or may be an existential threat both to freedom of speech (i.e., their freedom to say what they like with no comeback of any sort) and poetry itself.

EDIT: The inclusion of works by Leonard Cohen and Margaret Atwood in The Best American Poetry 2019 suggests a broader definition of that geographical adjective than is common - or maybe it was just done to annoy those "other" Americans north of the 49th parallel. What makes it interesting is that the guest editor's own intro included a lengthy paean to "American" poetry in the more conventionally used "US" sense, then included poems from authors well-known for not being from the US.

07-07-2021, 07:45 AM	#30142
Uncle Robin Diligent dilettante Posts: 3,662 Karma: 52758936 Join Date: Sep 2019 Location: in my mind Device: Kobo Sage; Kobo Libra Colour	Taking a small break from Heathcliff Lennox to start The Best American Poetry 2019 to complete another element of my 2021 Reading Challenge. Somewhat bemused and a little put off to discover that the prologue is a lengthy discussion about the death of poetry. Apparently, the fact that the powerful and privileged no longer have utterly untrammeled freedom of speech *and* freedom of consequences from that speech is or may be an existential threat both to freedom of speech (i.e., their freedom to say what they like with no comeback of any sort) and poetry itself. EDIT: The inclusion of works by Leonard Cohen and Margaret Atwood in The Best American* Poetry 2019* suggests a broader definition of that geographical adjective than is common - or maybe it was just done to annoy those "other" Americans north of the 49th parallel. What makes it interesting is that the guest editor's own intro included a lengthy paean to "American" poetry in the more conventionally used "US" sense, then included poems from authors well-known for not being from the US. Last edited by Uncle Robin; 07-07-2021 at 08:19 AM.