[Joe Crocker]

Thanks Julie for having a go at answering my questions. Yes, “Die” does not seem a good fit to Paterson’s own formula for a poem. I struggle to see how it is a poem in any sense. It seems very learned, densely, wittily written but….

Cameron said he would not have published it in Literary Matters. Is the reason for that that it’s written by Don Paterson who is “past his prime”? (So “Reed” wouldn’t have made the grade either?) Or is it because “Die” is not good enough a poem? If it had been submitted under a pseudonym, then I think it would be easy enough to pass over it, perhaps assuming the author had misdirected the email. But because it has Paterson’s name on it, and many journals will jump at the chance to publish something of his, then it’s understandable that you might want to examine it more closely. (This raises the question of whether all poetry should be read blind, with the work evaluated without reference to its author.) I did actually enjoy “Die” because I like its subject and argument, but I would (unfairly?) guess that LM published it largely because it was written by Paterson, And Cameron would NOT publish it for the same reason -- that it was written by Paterson. I would still be interested if anyone had any thoughts about the poem as a poem.