[Andrew Mandelbaum]

Originally Posted by E. Shaun Russell

For a thread that started off about an April Fool's joke, this has certainly devolved into a poor man's "Musing on Mastery" thread.

You can like Larkin, or you can not like Larkin, but I simply don't understand the need to truss those opinions up in quasi-sophisticated justifications. No one says anyone has to like a particular poet (author, musician, artist etc.), but that like or dislike doesn't have to be reasoned out at length. It's tedious, unproductive, and frankly a little tawdry at this point.

Stuff it, Russell. No truss here. Thought out, defendable opinions, deeply felt. Minority for sure but eat it. Tawdry? Dude, run along or express the opposite but don't dress up like daddy and dismiss the game. Almost everyone on here gushes over Larkin. He will be ok and dead.