I didn't see if anyone on the thread had an answer to the question posed to Jack Conway, but the answer seems obvious to me.
Jorie Graham and others should recuse themselves rather than award prestigious prizes to their students, friends and lovers. But when one simply praises the work of a poet in an online poetry forum, the stakes are much lower and so one need not refrain from promoting the work of people one admires so long as one can do so sincerely. Ideally, one should disclose a relationship to the poet if it is a significant one.
But here the relationship (if any) is tenuous, and it is fully disclosed. The review identifies David's book as having been published by The Alsop Review Press and Gazebo identifies itself as a on-line forum associated with The Alsop Review. Having identified the nexus between Cheryl Snell, David Anthony, and the Alsop Review Press, Mr. Conway and his anonymous friend can take that information into account when they read Ms. Snell's review of David's book.
epigone
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