-
The Openness of A. R. Ammons
Thanks to the link provided in Don Share’s post on Harriet, which discusses A. R. Ammons as “the great prosodic centrist of American poetry” (and no, Share isn’t using “centrist” in its usual sense), I found myself reading Stephen Burt’s incisive essay on Ammons, entitled “Naive Melody.” I would have preferred “native” to “naive” in describing Ammons, who in my estimation ranks among the greatest mid-20th century American poets. Of course, Burt uses the word in a special sense that does help define what sets Ammons apart.Read More
-
A Conversation in Progress
Reginald Shepherd has put a thought-provoking post on his Harriet blog, which you should read here before going on. I thought I should aggregate the exchanges that followed between Reginald and me, if only because it’s fund (for some people) to experience writers thinking “out loud.” +++ Here’s my initial reply: Reginald writes: “Art emerges from and is conditioned by its social context, but it isn’t determined by it.Read More