[W.F. Lantry]

Tony,

So the first book I thought of was The Branch Will Not Break. I was surprised, and heartened, it was also the first book mentioned. So then I thought 'What's the most important prosodic attribute of 20th century poetry?' Pretty clearly, it's the varied lyrical sequence, and Roethke's The Far Field and Kinnell's The Book of Nightmares would both make excellent candidates. And then I thought 'Who has been most important to my own life and work?' That's easy: Forche's The Country Between Us.

But then I thought 'This question is being asked on a site devoted to form,' and I almost settled on Omeros. But then, who wrote the most innovative formal poems? Who had the most spectacular use of meter and rhyme during that time? Clearly, it's Berryman. In fact, it's not even close.

So that's my nomination, purely on technical reasons: for his stunning pentameter, his inventive use of structure, and his ingenious use of rhyme, I think Berryman has to make the list.

Thanks,

Bill