[Janice D. Soderling]

Let's not get side-tracked on irrelevant topics.

[David Anthony]

I met him a couple of years ago at West Chester and thought he was charming. He not only autographed my copy of his book: he also composed a couple of poems on the spot and wrote them in.
Still pulls the women, despite his age.
Definitely an egotist, though: I could hardly hear myself talk about my poetry, because he kept interrupting me to talk about his. Dunno what it is about these Poeticals.
Best regards,
David

[Quincy Lehr]

(Philip--If I've upset you in any way, can you please let me know how by PM, so that I might make amends?)

[W.F. Lantry]

Originally Posted by David Anthony

I could hardly hear myself talk about my poetry, because he kept interrupting me to talk about his.

David,

That's the best line I've heard this week!

Thanks for the giggle!

Thanks,

Bill

[Gail White]

Encouraging report, Janice.
I've always expected to get my Rich and Famous Contract at the age of 85.

[Quincy Lehr]

But to add, Janice, my mentioning Menashe's supercilious, condescending attitude is not necessarily of particular moment when one is looking at a particular poem. But as far as I'm concerned, Menashe the poet is someone whose main impact on me and several of my closest collaborators has been as an "establishment" figure who was, as compared to the vast majority of well-established poets I've met, quite committed to letting you know where he felt you stood in relationship to him. And while this may have no bearing on what one sees on the page in Sweden, I still have the emails from the time of that reading, and we lot were pretty upset. We considered going public at the time, but cooler heads prevailed. Perhaps it was that Ray Pospisil, who suffered a neglect far greater, was the main guy in the line of fire, that made me not hold my tongue this time.

The thing is, you never know with whom you're dealing, not really, and the guy treated friends of mine (one of them now dead) like garbage. And Menashe, if his Selected is anything to go by, has yet to write a poem that is a touch on Pospisil's "Insomnia" or "The Bell," and even were this not the case, it still rankles.

Quincy

[Gail White]

PS: I've been searching through my antediluvian records to see if Samuel Menashe once edited Bitterroot magazine, but can't verify this -- does anyone know? It was someone with a similar name, at any rate.

[Janice D. Soderling]

Quincy, I understand sticking up for your friends, and I understand that your memories especially rankle since they concern your friend Ray.

Besides which, I don't think you were off-topic. I just didn't want us to get going on talking about the Sphere's good guys and bad guys. I should have made that clear. Now it is.

[Mark Allinson]

They say querulousness increases with age.

Strewth!!!

I am just 62!

By the time I am as old as this geeza, I will be heckling sea-gulls on the beach!

[Janice D. Soderling]

If you do it with such insightful humor, the seagulls won't mind.