[W.F. Lantry]

Originally Posted by Maryann Corbett

So I'm just as uncertain as ever...

Interesting discussion. I'm not fond of elitism, but I'm also not fond of anti-elitism. Someone I deeply respected used to walk out of poetry readings if the intros were longer than the actual poems. You could read the impatience on her face. An old teacher said "Assume an intelligent audience," and I kinda liked that. It's also true that, in this age of google, any phrase I don't know I can look up at my desk.

On the other hand, when I love a book, I end up reading everything. Even the copyright page! So some people will love notes, and some will frown, depending on their *own* predilections, and nothing will change those.

But here's what I miss: One seldom sees, these days, any kind of poetic statement. I don't know why this is. Frank O'Hara once wrote, in a very funny piece, "It's all in the poems." But of course it's not, and people lacking a sense of humor take his jokes as serious statements, without realizing *they're* the ones being mocked! Others avoid them, I suspect, because they're worried they'll say the wrong thing. Others worry they'll end up looking foolish. But I really *want* a note from the author, describing what she's doing, or trying to do, or what she believes art is. Kate just sent off some poems, somewhere, and made me write the ars poetica they requested. She said "She said "Stop watching that football game, and give me 125 words. Right now!" Which actually is about the word count of a sonnet, and how long can 14 lines *really* take to write? Knocked it out at halftime...

So here's my crazy view. Endnotes are optional. But a poetic statement should be required. I know that sounds nuts, but just knowing it sounds nuts may mean I'm not as crazy as I seem...

Thanks,

Bill