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Unread 06-09-2002, 12:40 AM
A. E. Stallings A. E. Stallings is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Athens, Greece
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Very nice response, Tim!

On the bright side, a negative review and any attendant controversy in the protected world of poetry can sometimes increase a books sales better than bland praise. And all of us who have copies of "Belonging" here heartily recommend it.

Although (or perhaps because) he can be infuriating, I do think William Logan performs a valuable service for poetry. A healthy art needs its negative reviews, and a reviewer who isn't afraid to make enemies (boy he sure isn't). He is especially good at poking a pin in the many overinflated reputations that pass for successful poets these days. And I must confess that I always read his reviews, both for their wit and their iconoclasm. I only wish he were as generous with his wit in his praise. (And about the only time I see him give unstinting praise, it is to a poet's previous book, to which he is unfavorably comparing the current, less successful effort.) He is very good at close readings, but I don't think I've ever seen an appreciation of a poet by him.

It is interesting in his review that he says he should "eat his words" referring to Hill's previous book, "Speech, Speech." I wonder if he often has second thoughts about books he has panned.
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