[Roger Slater]

Of course the focus should be on writing (for those of us who write). I am certain that everyone here agrees with that proposition. However, that doesn't mean we cannot sometimes have discussions that do not involve our focus. Every single one of us often engages in activities and conversations that are not the absolute focus of our lives, but focusing on one thing does not require us not to notice or discuss other things. To say that we shouldn't discuss poetics because our focus as poets should only be on our own writing presents a false choice. Most of the poets I have admired also write about poetry and enjoy discussing it. A bit of thoughtfulness about one's craft may also help us better focus on the writing itself.

And Max, my main point was that poetry does not inevitably depend on a connectedness to nature, even if modern life has made us less connected. But I think the extent of our so-called disconnectedness has been exaggerated. Wordsworth thought our ties were severed two hundred years ago, but plenty of wonderful nature poetry has ensued. The city/country divide has long been a subject of poetry. Yes, I suppose we would be more "connected" to nature if we all slept in caves and had to club our dinner entrees to death before tearing them apart with our teeth and roasting them on a fire, but countless millions of us still visit parks and beaches on a regular basis, go bird watching, garden, sail, surf, meditate, jog, etc. I don't see sleeping on a mattress or having a roof over your head as a disconnect from nature.

But even if it were a disconnect, why would it be impossible to write a poem about lying in bed under a roof? Who decreed that poetry must always be about a connection to nature? Whoever it was, I guess, didn't have me on their mailing list.