Mona Van Duyn was poet laureate of the United States for 1992-3. Although there are poems in this large collection that I liked including those that persuaded me to purchase this book in the first place; too many are devoted to her unhappy childhood and themes of sickness and death. Is it just coincidence that so many poets had unhappy childhoods or is an unhappy childhood necessary for forging a good poet? Similarly, are writers drawn to the profession because they are too unhealthy for more robust pursuits or does ill-health lead to the kind of introspection that makes a good writer?
Having now read over a hundred modern poets I am lead to the observation that none make a living from it and too many seem to inhabit the halls of academia. This leads me to wonder if creative writing courses are actually conducive to good writing. This observation comes from the same perverse thinking that maintains that too many lawyers are politicians. Another aphorism holds that those who can, do; those who can’t, teach. Could it be that the average man in the street finds the learned and convoluted allusions in so much modern poetry too arcane to interest him? Would poetry be more accessible if it didn’t try so hard to impress us with its erudition and worked harder at telling stories or evoking daily life?
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