[Janice D. Soderling]

Report me to the punctuation section of the Word Nerd Society. I'll go quietly.

And of course Centrifugal Eye and Rotary Dial (and some Canadian mags that no longer exist) share that special place.

Doesn't hurt to give both of them a little publicity though. Thanks Ann.

[R. S. Gwynn]

I get around 80 books a year for review and try my best to look as Poetry in its online edition.

There is some stuff I find rather witty (I always look for wit) but more that seems centered on the "family romance." Surely I wrote about family matters when I was young (what else do young poets have to write about?) but to read not-so-younger and older poets still going over their problems with mom, dad, and various uncles (rarely aunts) is tiresome.

The other thing that I notice (re. Poetry Magazine, is the number of references to pop culture. These things will give poems a shelf life of maybe a year or two. I recently gave my students Cole Porter's "You're the Top" as an example of a fascinating use of rhyme. They got that, but they got about 15% of the allusions.

[John Whitworth]

As far as the young are concerned anything that happened more than 20 years ago is history and dead history at that. American young people can't tell the civil war from the war of independence, the first from the second world war and the Brits are no better. Hardly any of them know who commanded the forces at Waterloo or who it is on top of that column in Trafalgar Square. They are pig ignorant It's a shame but it's a fact.

Perhaps the English Public School (Private School) is the only place where a decent education can be got. They teach Latin and Greek, don't you know.

[Chris O'Carroll]

Good heavens, even Yanks know that Duke Ellington won the Battle of Waterloo. (Although he famously said that he was on a playing field with Mrs. Beeton at the time.) And, of course, that’s Nelson Mandela in Trafalgar Square.

[John Whitworth]

Tell me how many young people have heard of Duke Ellington, Chris. He's as long ago as the other Duke. The chap on the pillar a hobbit in a funny hat.

My wife tells me that many French children think Napoleon won.

[Michael Cantor]

Roof, frazzle, snap, young people these days. beat them over the head with a cricket bat, I say, they never broke a British square, and we'll hang them in the morning, ignorant bastards all.

John, just out of curiosity - not that I would ever question your sources, or their sources - where did you get the information that young Americans can't tell the civil war from the war of independence, or the first (Gary Cooper) world war from the second (Audie Murphy and John Wayne). I often find the sources of your information fascinating.

[Chris O'Carroll]

As I think you know, Michael, my wife is a history professor. She has more than once told me about students who believe that slavery and the automobile were contemporaneous elements of American life. A colleague of hers tells the story of a student saying, “All I know about the war in Vietnam is what I learned from Saving Private Ryan.” Granted, D-Day and the Tet offensive, which at least occurred in the same century, were a bit closer in time than Yorktown and Appomattox. But the spirit of John’s indictment is certainly true, and I’m quite prepared to believe the letter as well.

[John Whitworth]

I learned about these things on these l'il ol' boards, Michael. I'm sure the young are very nice. They just don't know anything.

Didn't the boy notice the bad guys were, how can I put this, not of South East Asian appearance, Chris.

[Michael Cantor]

Yes, Chris, I know there are kids like that (I was one of them, except that my areas of ignorance involved music and dancing - which, at age 17, was far worse), but an entire generation? I know you can find fools - even outside of Congress - but is that exceptional or institutional?

John, we cross-posted, but it's always informative to have you expand on your world view.

[John Whitworth]

Michael. World view? I am a plain, blunt man. I only speak right on. I tell you that which you yourselves do know. The young know many things, mostly pertaining to mobile phones and the internet which we oldies find most puzzling. But as to knowing anything about what happened five minutes before they were born... nada.

But you know this as well as I do. You are putting yourself out to be nice to your grandchildren. And anyway, what is history? Damn square thick books. The internet will tell us all we need to know.

If we know what to ask.