Well I could. But my last book 'Being the Bad Guy' was not reviewed by ANYBODY in the UK. It was reviewed by Les Murray in Australia and Sam Gwynn in the USA - both nice reviews, perhaps they felt solidarity with another not-so-young poet of comfortable build. And - as I sad before and it's getting to be ad nauseam - my jolly good (I think) essay on the writing of rhyming poetry was rejected by the (very nice) editor of Poetry Rview because it was too contentious. That wasn't because I slagged anyone off (well would I?) but because of the subject matter itself.
As for taking my bat out in a fit of pique, I have enteerd three poems EVERY YEAR in the National Poetry Competition and I haven't won a thing since something like 1983 when the good Wendy was a judge. In that time I have won a fair amount in other competitions, half a dozen firsts, half a dozen seconds, not a few places. But I do think (YES I DO) that there is a kind of Oxford-educated male, vaguely Guardian-reading (that means soft left) consensus in these matters. And yes I know that I am male and Oxford-educated but you wouldn't know it, if you see what I mean, well you wouldn't know the Oxford bit.
I think the best Brit poets of my generation are Kit Wright and Wendy Cope and, yes, me. And in the generation below I am very fond of Sophie Hannah and Ann Drysdale and I quite like Carol Ann when she's not being politically right-on. All that means is that I like stuff that rhymes and scans. Bill Greenwell is a poet, according to me and I hope according to you, but NOT according to...
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