"This is a terrible poem! Is "In the Kilahari Desert" an exception and this poem "A Martian Sends A Postcard Home" typical of him? What to say---I just dont know."
Ewrgall, some questions:
Did you read this as persistently as you did "Kalahari Desert"?
Let's posit that "Martian Sends a Postcard" IS a terrible poem: should we pray for Raine to stick to narrative poems? Are there other examples of his narrative work that would justify this question?
Was he one time lucky?
Can a poet write a wonderful poem and become a "master"?
If a baseball pitcher throws a no-hitter, he goes automatically to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Hank Aaron greatly exceeded Babe Ruth's home-run output, but white fans still revere The Babe. Aaron persisted and over time produced more "great poems." But Babe Ruth remains the symbol of the slugger. Why?
What makes a "master," a singular great performance or many great performances? Many remarkable artists die young (Hart Crane; Bunny Berrigan), having produced some great work. Many produce a great piece, but live and fizzle.
Should we concentrate on the value of a singularly fine poem and simply ignore the output, the ouvre, the biography, and, particularly, the School?
I posted this poem trying to adhere to the title of this forum: "Musing on Mastery." In my mind, and ear, there's no question that "Kalahari" is an example of "mastery." Whether it's the work of a "master" may be another question.
On a website where Robert Frost (not unlike Hank Aaron) doesn't always cut it, I'm curious whether less well-known poets can score for a singularly powerful poem.
Bob
[This message has been edited by Robert J. Clawson (edited April 25, 2001).]
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