Poetry.
I subscribe, and generally find it hard to disagree with the contention that it consistently publishes the best poetry in English, the longevity of the journal alone would allow them to make the claim with a degree of impunity.
I looked forward to the Humor issue, I wanted to be entertained, amused, provoked and, above all, encouraged by humorous poems of a standard I should strive to emulate.
I am willing to accept some cultural differences that would militate against my particular (peculiar) predilections in this art, but not to have my sensibilities assaulted by what is, with the honourable exception of those items by our esteemed colleagues here, humor of a very unimaginative and poor standard indeed.
The Kennedy, Collins items, were simply there by weight of their authors’ reputations alone.
There were two plus pages of onanistic rubbish by a Norbert Hirshhorn.
Another essential qualification appeared to be the ability to spell ‘fuck’ and its many derivatives.
And as for this; this is supposed to be parody of a sublime standard, a standard fitting to the Humor issue of Poetry;
We Old Dudes
We old dudes. we
White shoes. We
Golf ball. We
Eat mall.We
Soak teeth.We
palm Beach; We
Vote red. We
Soon dead.
-Joan Murray
It is only surpassed, if surpassed is the right term, by this from X.J.Kennedy;
Whose woods these are I think I know.
Shall I just shack out in the snow
And freeze? Naaaa, guess I’d better go.
It’s bullshit poetry, and horseshit humor, if one of us posted anything here on any of the forums even faintly resembling these in mediocrity, we’d be told so in short order.
Will I renew?
Naaa, guess I’ll let it go.
Oh yes, just edited in to say that I was also seduced by the half price offer to subscribe but, in fairness, more so by the Stallings item accompanying.
[This message has been edited by Jim Hayes (edited July 21, 2006).]
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