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Unread 01-11-2023, 08:33 AM
Nick McRae Nick McRae is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2021
Location: Ontario, Canada
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Julie Steiner View Post
Speaking of institutions whose public confidence has plummeted in recent years....



Yes, but not always for the reason we might like to think (i.e., artistic merit/significance).

Entrusting your reading list to a parochial, sex-scandal-coverup-tainted committee of eighteen Swedes—which only rarely includes poets among its honorees—is certainly an effective way to shorten your poetry reading list to a manageable length. But you'll be missing out on a lot of significant poets. Robert Frost was reportedly nominated 31 times and never made the cut, so I guess he's not eligible for the McRae Prize, either?

If you want to rely on prize committees to do your pre-screening for you, the Pulitzer Committee only honors Americans, but at least they pick a book of poetry to honor each and every year. Three per year, actually, since they also recognize two runners-up, one of which in 2019 was Like by A.E. Stallings, formerly a moderator of Eratosphere. She may indeed win a Nobel Prize someday, but don't wait until then to read her books.
Thanks for this.

I did pick up The Norton Anthology of Poetry this year to get some samples from writers like Frost.

The interest is there, but it's slow going as I spend a lot of time with non-fiction as well. Much more time with non-poetry books these days.

Last edited by Nick McRae; 01-11-2023 at 08:47 AM.
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