Janet,
I think the issue of regional dialects in poetry is always going to be a fraught issue, partly because to be labeled a "regional" poet is often the kiss of death in getting serious (and not condescending) attention and partly because Americans, in particular, have become so unwilling to read anything with words that they don't understand that the audience for writers like Burns, Chaucer, and so on, is shrinking rapidly. This is particularly ironic, in that the same young people who won't try to read Chaucer will spend unlimited time learning the diction of rap songs (which is just as alien to most of them). Yet what gives regional dialect its power is its vividness and truth to the attitudes and experiences of particular people in a particular time and place. The very best poets, I think, write what they need to write and don't worry about whether it will be popular or understood. If the writing is really wonderful, some people will make the effort. I still remember the delight of learning the song "Waltzing Matilda" when I was a child. I didn't know what all of the words meant, but their very alienness was fascinating and memorable.
Susan
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