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Let’s Talk Poetry, Shall We?

By posted at 11:00 am on September 5, 2012 2

Willard Spiegelman’s provocative essay in the VQR’s recent State of American Poetry issue, “Has Poetry Changed?” incited quite a few responses. One of the better rejoinders came from William Childress, whose response, “Is Free Verse Killing Poetry,” raises some excellent points. “Poetry needs readers, not writers,” writes Childress. “But how many poets read any poetry but their own?”

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2 Responses to “Let’s Talk Poetry, Shall We?”

  1. EKSwitaj
    at 3:48 pm on September 5, 2012

    If Mr Childress’s rejoinder is one of the better ones, I’d hate to see the others. It’s a poorly argued bit of invective. Note the part where, shortly after claiming that beat poetry would have been considered fascist in another time, he also states that beat poetry is anarchic.

    The quotes you’ve selected here are good points, I suppose, but they’ve also been said again and again. I’m at a loss to understand why this piece is being given so much attention.

  2. Is Free Verse Killing Poetry? « The Saint Poem Reading Series … Be Visionary
    at 10:24 pm on September 5, 2012

    [...] Poetry needs readers, not writers. But how many poets read any poetry but their own?”~William Childress [...]

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