A major problem among contemporary poets: They are not embarrassed by the extravagant claims made by the blurbs that grace the back covers of their slim volumes.
2 comments:
Anonymous
said...
I don't know what's worse: excessive praise in blurb form or the attainment of a reputation so unassailable that all the back cover of one's books carry is a giant close-up photo of the author. Isn't the claim FSG implicitly makes for C. K. Williams via such photos, for example, at least as insulting as over-the-top blurbs? I have to admit that for some reason I don't mind this practice when used to peddle novels. Does that make me a poetry snob?
2 comments:
I don't know what's worse: excessive praise in blurb form or the attainment of a reputation so unassailable that all the back cover of one's books carry is a giant close-up photo of the author. Isn't the claim FSG implicitly makes for C. K. Williams via such photos, for example, at least as insulting as over-the-top blurbs? I have to admit that for some reason I don't mind this practice when used to peddle novels. Does that make me a poetry snob?
Less is more, more or less.
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