[Mark Allinson]

Tim,

what a gift!

Thank you so much.

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Mark Allinson

http://markallinson.netpublish.net/

[Tim Murphy]

Kate, that is a magnificent tribute to li'l RF. Someone at Amazon penned a very hostile review of one of my books, proclaiming I'm not fit to sit with the great New Formalists, that I'm just a minor nothing like Robert Francis, soon to be forgotten. You can't imagine how pleased I was! Yes, Alan's essay should be read by all. I heard of Francis one day when I first took Wilbur sailing. He couldn't believe I hadn't heard of him. Truth is, my use of short line and dense rhyme are often so like RF's I could be accused of being derivative of him, had I not first read him eight years ago. Alan's essay made Wilbur quite uncomfortable, with its emphasis on Francis as a closeted invert. Unlike Alan or me, Dick has no gaydar, and Alan has it right. Beautiful poet. In my personal American pantheon, he's just above Wallace Stevens.

[Kate Benedict]

Tim, I'm just grateful that you and Alan turned me on to Robert Francis. I keep reading and rereading the man. He was a fine craftsman and a rare soul.

[Tim Murphy]

We're discussing Francis at the Frost Fest at Distinguished Guest, and I'm just bumping this thread. Consult the Search function, and you will find that Francis figures in eighteen threads. If you like what you see here, read them all, and buy his books.