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The Plight of the Poet-Critic

The ins and outs of Adam Kirsch.
BY CARMINE STARNINO
The Modern Element: Essays on Contemporary Poetry, by Adam Kirsch. W.W. Norton. $24.!.
Invasions, by Adam Kirsch. "#an $. %ee. $&'.!.
The (oet-critic gets no sym(athy) and considering the charge-sheet against him * ad#ersarial) addicted to dicta) moti#ated by
an a+e-grindingly acute sense of right and ,rong * ,hy ,ould he- .e is) in most eyes) a hy(henated hothead. /ntil recently)
ho,e#er) that hy(hen ,as still a badge of s(ecial authority) so that (ractitioners ,riting critically about their craft ,ere
regarded as (oetry0s ideal readers. Not e#eryone agreed 1Northro( 2rye thought (oets made bad critics because they ,ere too
obsessed by their o,n (rocesses3) but Alfred Ka4in summed u( the standard #ie, in &56 ,hen) ,ith considerable (rofessional
en#y) he described the (oet-critic as al,ays 7right in the middle of the (arade 1and if he is good enough) he ,ill be leading it3.8
That ,as then. Today) as "rish (oet-critic %a#id Wheatley reminds us) 7there is a tem(tation to read the hy(hen as a subtraction
sign.8 Chal9 it u( to life after theory. As soon as (o,erful ne, methods began to dominate :nglish de(artments) the (oet-critic
gig lost its (restige. ;iterary criticism for the general reader * the sort cham(ioned by (oet-critics * too9 on a belletristic odor<
no matter ho, formidable the close reading) it ,ould no, e+ist on the margins of a more so(histicated cogitating. Worse) by
seeing off Arnoldian ob=ecti#ity 17the ob=ect as in itself it really is83) theory discredited the (robati#e force that (o,ered the
(oet-critic0s (rose. >tanding on (ostmodern ground for their higher surmises) academia outgre, aesthetic e#aluations< artistic
merit) as a conce(t) became an ideological fairy tale. What e#entually filtered do,n to street le#el * if the industry-,ide
outbrea9s of shoc9 at negati#e re#ie,s are any guide * ,as a hy(ersensiti#ity to strong o(inions and the taste-correcting urge
lur9ing inside. >ho, us somebody dedicated to sifting out the best from the merely good) and ,e0ll sho, you somebody ,ith a
hidden moti#e. As a result) the (oet-critic lost the gig altogether. Criticism by (oets) once the conscience of the art) is no,
e+(osed as a theatre of s(ecial interests) an acting out of (arti (ris. Thus his (light? ta9ing sides) the (oet-critic can0t be trusted.
.e s(ea9s for no one) e+ce(t himself.
Adam Kirsch isn0t the sort to be scared off by a little historical irrele#ancy. 2rom the start of his freelance career * around &6)
=ust shy of t,enty * he has de#oted himself to criticism that turns bac9 the cloc9 and resheathes (oetry in high seriousness. .e
has shar(ly de#elo(ed (references) a ,ell-stoc9ed mind) and #ery s(ecific ideas about (oetry0s characteristics as an art form.
.is assignments) after a #ery busy decade) ha#e ranged ,idely and include Anne Carson) W.>. @er,in) Aames Tate) Paul
@uldoon) August Klein4ahler) Blyn @a+,ell) and Cusef Komunya9aa. .e has also si4ed u() and sometimes dressed do,n) the
,or9 of Charles Du9o,s9i) .art Crane) $obert ;o,ell) :4ra Pound) >amuel Aohnson) Words,orth) and >helley. That he is a
(oet himself ,as e#entually confirmed in 2EE2 ,ith the (ublication of The Thousand Wells. Dut to anyone (aying attention) it
,as already ob#ious by his habit of filing arrestingly ambitious four- to fi#e-thousand ,ord (ieces that carried out their
fla,-detection duties ,ithout heed for margins of error. Fnly someone (ersonally im(licated in the ,ays (oems can fail ,ould
credit his doubts to that e+tent. And only a critic ,ould stri#e as hard to ma9e those doubts (lausible to those ,ho didn0t share
them. That) in a nutshell) is ,hat it means for (oet and critic to share one body.
Cet Kirsch0s odd-man-out status also testifies to ho, rarely the t,o come together ,ith such unsha9eable (ur(ose. Poets might
flirt ,ith the odd Flym(ian (ronouncement) but 9no, better. The rules of engagement are too ris9y) the results too easy to
ridicule. .a#ing ,asted no time finding his stride) Kirsch remains focused. .e continues to (lace his (oet-critic multitas9ing at
the ser#ice of a (rofoundly unfashionable 7(remodernist8 #ision that em(hasi4es form) disci(line) and tradition. .e continues
to assert the right to (ress large claims u(on readers) deri#ing his authority * and arbitershi( * from :liot0s belief that) as
Kirsch (ut it in an early re#ie,) 7only criticism that aims to change (oetry is ,orthy of the name.8 Needless to say) this reGuires
a con#iction that) for many) is unthin9able because untenable< an irony-free 4one that breeds reactionary) (ontifical states of
mind. Kirsch is too careful a student of history not to understand the dangers 1and) luc9ily) there0s al,ays the bac9-chatter his
re#ie,s ins(ire to remind him. %a#id ;ehman? 7a constricting and reactionary aesthetics)8 Aohn Palattella? 7a narro, and
(edestrian sense of style and (ro(riety83. Dut self-=ustification) you sus(ect) is (recisely ,hat eggs him on. "t0s also the most
com(elling thing about him? his determination to re-e+alt the (oet-critic stance. The clout might be gone) but the duty remains.
:+ce(t that ,here the (oet-critic once held the one true line) he is no, forced to dra, it in sand.
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The Modern Element is a collection of t,enty-se#en re#ie,s that set u( sho( in the same big idea. All (oet-critics (ossess a
home truth that under,rites e#erything? ,here things ,ent ,rong) ,hat tendencies are being neglected) ,hich direction to
ta9e ne+t. 2or Kirsch) it is (oetry0s 7neurotic obsession ,ith the modern.8 The Modern Element has thus been assembled in
reaction * and at times o#erreaction * to ,hat Kirsch thin9s ,as a #ery bad deal. The modern as 7mastery of com(le+ity8
1,hat @atthe, Arnold cam(aigned for3 should ne#er ha#e been allo,ed to gi#e ,ay to the modern as 7surrender to
com(le+ity8 1the definition that :liot established and that still (re#ails3. "n other ,ords) it ,as the classic mista9e of sacrificing
long-term (otential for short-term gain. @odernness as an aesthetic category has been mortgaged for the instant gratification of
modernness as a tem(oral category. The (oetry that results * one that ma9es a (oint of its modernness and ,hose idea of ris9
is tied to ma9ing that (oint * is too surface-seduced to create a shareable e+(erience bet,een reader and (oet. This) Kirsch
argues) leads to 7fraudulent self-e+(osure) ,hich ma9es no inner demand on (oet or reader) and otiose e+(erimentalism) ,hich
mista9es no#elty for disco#ery.8 .is critical study The Wounded Surgeon 12EE!3 ,as an earlier attem(t to e+(lain ho, this
notion of modernness) if left unchec9ed) can bait us into crude misreadings. The e+(licit disclosures of Derryman) ;o,ell) Plath)
Disho() Aarrell) and >ch,art4- A technical tric9) Kirsch reminds us * one that established artlessness as a radically ne, 9ind of
artfulness. Dut so successful ,as the inno#ation that ,e de#alued ,hat their (oems did ,hile fetishi4ing ,hat they said. The
Wounded Surgeon ,as thus an attem(t to return these careers to their first (rinci(les. Confessionalism) Kirsch reminds us) ,as
a ruthless stylistic #ictory o#er the refractory idiom of e+treme feeling. 7The suffering that afflicted this grou( of (oets)8 he
,rites) 7becomes significant only because they e+amined it ,ith the surgeon0s rigor) detachment) and s9ill.8
Pro#iding reminders is) as it ha((ens) a large (art of Kirsch0s strategy. @any of his best re#ie,s do nothing more than dust off a
once-fighting tenet * 7ob=ecti#e correlati#e)8 for instance * and get it bac9 into the fray. Poetry) he reminds us) is about (laying
the long game) about de#elo(ing forms that not only ma9e meaning) but ma9e it stay (ut. >uffering the ,ound of a modernness
that has beGueathed us a set of e+(ectations ,ithout the means of satisfying them) Kirsch offers his cure? (oets need to reclaim
7the mastery of traditional form) ,hich alone allo,s meaningful de(artures from tradition8 and thus enter into a richer
relationshi( * 7the nimble transcendence of the old o((osites8 * ,ith inherited standards.
2or this reason) Kirsch0s ta9edo,ns of Aohn Ashbery and >haron Flds are no sur(rise 1both oue#res) he claims) are shi(,rec9ed
by their radicalisms) (hiloso(hical and se+ual res(ecti#ely3. Nor ,ill anyone be scratching their head o#er the generous tributes
he (ays to %ere9 Walcott) C4esHa, @ilos4) and %ennis F0%riscoll 1the terms of his (raise for F0%riscoll can =ust as easily be
a((lied to Walcott and @ilos4? 7,orth) mastery) (ossibility) control83. What may catch readers off-guard) ho,e#er) is his
admiration for the 7astringently bi4arre8 2rederic9 >eidel. "ndeed) >eidel seems to be a (oet ,ho not only resists the terms of
Kirsch0s e+(ectations) but slightly reconditions them 17one of the #ery rare contem(orary (oets ,ho can be transgressi#e) not in
the fashionable ,ay of the seminar) but in the disturbing and baffling ,ay of the nightmare.83 This needs to be (ointed out
because the 9noc9 against Kirsch * and (oet-critics more generally * is that he is too (redictable) an amateur) as it ,ere) ,ho
has (rofessionali4ed his (re=udices to the (oint ,here) often) there0s no need to read him. Dut ,ho ,ould ha#e forecast the
e#en-handedness of his essay on Binsberg 17in Howl) Binsberg achie#es a telesco(ing of ideas and images of ,hich %onne
,ould be (roud83- Fr Koch 17buoyant) clo,ning) e+clamatory * a rha(sode of friendshi( and lo#e83-
Where Kirsch really fli(s the scri(t is in his bracing e#aluations * admiring) analytic) and ambi#alent in eGual measure * of
formalist (oets Aames @errill) Beoffrey .ill) and Anthony .echt. :ach is a career audit in ,hich Kirsch ,olfishly in#estigates
,hether ris9s) to use 2rost0s ,ords) 7,ere ,ea9ly lost or richly s(ent.8 Bi#en the scru(ulous formalism of his o,n (oetry) you
,ould assume his sym(athies ,ould (re#ent him from (ushing his s9e(ticism so far. The real occu(ational ha4ard of being a
(oet-critic) ho,e#er) is that you are harshest on matters about ,hich you are most Gualified to s(ea9. ;uc9ily) Kirsch0s conce(t
of modernness also means his sym(athies are ,ith readers rather than (oets. Nothing u( his slee#e) he al,ays brings along his
o,n criteria for ,hat he alleges and al,ays ma9es sure he e+(resses himself ,ith the utmost clarity. This 9ind of straight tal9
de(ends on the ability to communicate the feel of a (oem) and to communicate) ,hen the situation reGuires it 1as it often seems
to3) ,hat feels missing. Fne unfortunate side effect * betrayed most embarrassingly in the ,ind-and-,rath essay that ends the
boo9 * is a condescending regard for American (oetry as nothing more than an error gratefully ,aiting for Kirsch0s correction.
"ndeed) if The Modern Element has an autobiogra(hical subte+t) then you might say these re#ie,s are the ,ish-fulfillment of a
young man ,ho en=oys the #anity of his o,n good sense) but is restless under a dis(ensation he is hel(less to change. This
,ould (artly e+(lain his (enchant for dramati4ing careers as an e+citing battle against the odds 1Walcott0s struggle) for instance)
7to con#ince himself and the ,orld that originality is still (ossible) e#en at this late hour83.
Dut front-line situations * ,ith the fate of contem(orary (oetry hanging in the balance * bring out the best in Kirsch. An
incom(arable conte+t builder) ,ith a near-(erfect nose for com(arisons 1the echo of :liot0s Four Quartets in Ashbery0s 7Brand
Balo(8 ,as neat) but Ashbery0s distance from Words,orth0s The Prelude ,as immensely clarifying3) Kirsch is e+cellent at
(lacing (oets in their historical moment) aided by an ability to e#o9e the ,ay the climate of a (eriod manner can suddenly be
made to (i#ot into the (ri#ate ,eather of a (oem. Painsta9ing and (atient) he builds his e#aluations from the foundations
u(,ards) (utting intimidating figures 1C#or Winters3 or unfamiliar careers 1;es @urray3 into re#elatory (ers(ecti#e) or
(ro#iding (ro#ocati#e redescri(tions of (oets 1Dilly Collins3 ,ith ,hom ,e might already be au courant. Kirsch can do this
because he isn0t obsessed by the little choices that hold together (oems) but by the large choices * the consensual glue) you
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might say * that hold together our definitions of (oetry. .e is al,ays tracing s(ecific effects bac9 to general causes. .is great
gift) in fact) is the s(eculati#e statement ,ith immersi#e reach< the statement that e+tends far beyond the needs of the re#ie, to
enter dee(ly) and alter) con#entional ,isdom. The easy so(histication of these s(eculations can be breathta9ing. Fn @errill?
A (oet gi#es the im(ression of strength only if his linguistic (o,ers seem to meet and o#ercome the challenge of
significant statement. >im(le things said sim(ly are graceful< difficult things said ,ith difficulty are im(ressi#e< but
sim(le things said ,ith difficulty are merely sho,y.
Fr ta9e this e+em(lary (aragra(h?
>olemnity ho,e#er has al,ays been .ill0s besetting #ice. >olemnity is to seriousness as sentimentality is to emotion?
the attem(t to induce a feeling that refuses to occur s(ontaneously. What0s more) solemnity (ro#o9es a 9ind of
resistance * moc9ery) or sheer disbelief * ,hich genuine seriousness ne#er does. And it ta9es courage for a (oet to
reali4e that such resistance on the reader0s (art may be =ustified) that it demands a genuine reform of his (oetic
methods. That is ,hy there is something truly im(ressi#e in the stylistic e#olution of a Ceats or a ;o,ell. .ill)
ho,e#er) has ne#er embraced the 9ind of humility necessary for such a change. "nstead) he has been the Coriolanus
of contem(orary (oetry) (roud of his refusal to com(romise or condescend.
2orce of belief is only one reason Kirsch has made such an im(ression. The serenity of his (olemic is the other. Kirsch al,ays
9ee(s his tem(er) if ne#er his tongue. 2or all his ,illingness to ta9e e+treme (ositions) he is rarely rude or intem(erate. Polite
hard-headness is) in fact) his secret ,ea(on? he sim(ly refuses to belie#e that ,hat a (oet has (ut into a (oem automatically
belongs there. .is no, notorious Aorie Braham re#ie, is the most dramatic e+am(le of this hard-headness) and also its most
#aluable e+(ression because it is the sum of Kirsch0s manifestos 1absorbed into it) for instance) are BlIc90s 7narcissism)8 the
7discourteousJnessK8 of C.%. Wright) and Ashbery0s 7ele(hantiasis of indirection83. $eading Braham0s boo9) Kirsch meets a
mind that is most unli9e his) and thus finds himself at the e+treme end of his dilemma ,ith the modern element. "n her failure
to create ,hat he calls 7ob=ecti#e correlati#es for inner e+(erience)8 Braham (roduces not (oems but 7a shorthand) a (ri#ate
idiom) ,hich the reader is left to translate.8 To (ro#e it) he sets out to translate it. Whether readers are brought any closer to
that (roof is arguable 1" thin9 that Kirsch ma9es a hayma9er of a case3 but they0ll ,itness something e#en better? e+hilaratingly
bloody-minded detecti#e ,or9 that gathers u( the e#idence of the (oetry0s sha(e and sound and stri#es to sol#e the Guality of
its meaning. Kee(ing close ste( as both accom(lice and =ury) Kirsch tests each line for the information it brings< and his (atient
marshalling of clues in strategic) cant-free) blo,-stri9ing ,ays (roduces a fascinating set of instructions in ho, to read. Cou
don0t ha#e to buy into the Kirsch @ethod to find the e+ercise useful.
That method does) ho,e#er) suggest ,hy reading Kirsch can be an uneasy (leasure. .is morali4ing bias to,ard (oetry ,ithin
7formal mastery8 dra,s out formulations that force him to sacrifice his creati#ity as a (rose ,riter. "deas are flo,charted into
larger ideas to create com(le+) diagrammatic discussions. Dut Kirsch (ays a (rice for such brain-,or9? he has a ,ea9ness for a
dry-as-dust (arlance that raises doubts about ,hether he can muster the stylistic nimbleness needed to get a fi+ on) and fi+ in
(lace) constantly shifting definitions of genres) con#entions) and forms. 7;i9e many modernist (oets)8 he ,rites about Braham
7she ,ants (oetry to ser#e as an e#ocati#e transcri(t of mental (rocesses) rather than a finished and self-subsistent ob=ect.8 This
is true) but the sentence has too much te+tboo9 in it * (ut more of them in a re#ie,) for (aragra(hs at a time) and
unsym(athetic readers ,ill thin9 that the ground has been brilliantly ,ell-laid for a thoroughgoing misunderstanding of the
boo9. Kirsch0s (rose can0t see beyond its o,n (recocity. Fr ta9e this? 7"t is in the negotiation of these t,o demands) meaning
and form) sense and rhythm) that (oetic beauty is created.8 This is a sentence constructed entirely out of Parnassian
(ublicity-9it ,ords. And a fa#orite touchstone li9e 7mastery)8 no matter ho, hard-(ushed) has a tendency to linger in the mind
as sentiment) not argument. "n his ;ar9in essay) he defines a (oet0s sacrifice for his art in the most drained lingo? 7"t means
hollo,ing out one0s self) in order to allo, all the bitterness and =oy of life to ta9e u( residence there and find e+(ression.8 There
is something too easy about that sentence) or rather) Kirsch ma9es things too easy on himself. .is (rose) ,hen it (raises)
sometimes forgets to register any struggle) ,hich lea#es us uncertain about his certainties.
This brings us to a (art of the (oet-critic0s (layboo9 that Kirsch seems to ha#e s9i((ed. ;i9e (oetry) (rose can be understood as
memorable s(eech. Prose on (oetry) ho,e#er) is a different 9ind of s(eech altogether? a(horistic) intuiti#e) com(ressed)
un(redictable) (e((y. Poems do many things at once) and if you ,ant to ca(ture that restlessness you need sentences that can
run together different 9inds of e+(erience. 1The (oems ,e lo#e) ,e lo#e for the ,ay they are ,ritten. The same goes for the
criticism.3 @any (oetry re#ie,ers don0t ta9e the challenge seriously enough) or the solution? a critic needs to coin his o,n
terms. Neologistically (oor) Kirsch stic9s to a fairly standardi4ed #ocabulary) arguing through definitions. The result are essays
that can0t hel( but radiate an egghead gra#itas.
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To be fair) The Modern Element does gi#e us some Guotable a(erLus 1the Ne, Cor9 >chool0s 7atomic-age jeunesse dore8 or ;es
@urray0s se+less no#el-in-#erse Freddy Neptune as 7an Odyssey of erocide83 and lots of memorable stand-alone indictments.
.ill? 7one does not read The Mystery of the har!ty ,ith a sense that (oetry0s res(onsibility has been enacted< it has only been
addressed as a to(ic.8 BlIc9? 7the lasting and distincti#e im(ression Jher (oemsK ma9e on the reader) is not of a mind curious
about mystery) but of a mind that en=oys regarding itself in (ro+imity to mystery.8 Collins? 7JhisK de#otion to the ordinary is not
a disci(lined res(onse to disenchantment. "t is) rather) a (eculiarly American form of mental la4iness.8 Winters? 7his canon
seemJsK li9e a toy 9ingdom) a @onaco of (oetry e+isting in (lacid unrelation to the em(ire all around it.8
Kirsch0s cho(s as a critic are ,ell-9no,n< as a (oet) less so) ,hich (ro#es that it0s easier to build a (rofile as critic than as (oet
1,hich) in turn) acti#ates the (oet-critic0s biggest fear? being better at the ,rong thing3. That said) "n#as!ons is an ad#ance on
the 7silent) (arcelled) and controlled8 (oems of the a,ard-,inning The Thousand Wells. >tic9ing to a single form * a
sonnet-li9e si+teen-liner * Kirsch0s second boo9 e+(lores the dee(ly di#ided time-sense of an imagination obsessed ,ith
mirrorings and facades) bogeymen and s(oo9s 1e+actly 7the music of doubt and self doubt8 that he notices) and (raises) in
%a#id Ce44i0s first boo9.3 $eminiscent of the (aragra(h-stan4as of 7Fne Wee9end8 from The Thousand Wells) the form allo,s a
fascinating toughening of Kirsch0s earlier tone? ,e no, get slo,-mo#ing synta+) bal9y lines) disconsolately rum(led (hrasing.
While Derryman and Walcott ,ould be a good (lace to loo9 for something similar) the debt to ;o,ell * s(ecifically the hea#y
thin9ing (oet-diarist of H!story * is o#er,helming. "t0s clear) though) that the influence has been salutary) (ushing Kirsch to be
less brightly e(i(hanic) more an+iously suggesti#e. 7;ar9in)8 one of the boo90s best (oems) sums u( the Dritish (oet thusly?
"f genius is to carry the (ristine
>hoc9 of (erce(tion to the bitter last)
There ,as no (urer genius? (hilistine)
/ncom(romising) foul mouth stuffed ,ith rust.
That ending) es(ecially the #ery fine (arting image) a((ro+imates ;o,ell0s 9nac9 of catching the corroded as(ects of a life ,hile
also ser#ing notice of Kirsch0s o,n gift for using rhyme 1(ristine M (hilistine) lastMrust3 to further encode the grimness. "n
7Withdra,al)8 Kirsch e+(resses the floating media-saturated fatalism of a (ost M&& ,orld?
The good it did ,as negati#e. The mail
Put off its ,ea(oni4ed ,hite coat of s(ores<
The =ets no longer seemed to fall
Fr (i#ot madly to,ard the u((er floors<
such things returned to their old habitat
"n nightmares and the cra,l on cnn.
Dut ,here did the rainbo, come from) (ledging
that
The flood subsiding ,ouldn0t rise again-
"t ,as =ust something s,allo,ed ,ith the dose
That fed the brain its missing chemicals)
Coa+ing it from its dar9er (ur(oses
Dac9 to the daylight ,e assume is normal.
No, as the milligrams decrease) the ache
And si44le of the syna(se slo,ing do,n
Warns that these months of (eace ,ere a mista9e<
Things ,ere not ,rong inside) but all around.
7Things ,ere not ,rong inside) but all around8 is as memorable as language gets. The ,ell-managed flo, of this) ho,e#er) gi#es
a hint of ho, it can) and does) go ,rong? obser#ations are ,renched into an effortful ,ord-(lacing that al,ays 9ee(s an
obligatory eye on the rhyme scheme. Kirsch0s e+(eriments at ,riting a more im(ro#isingly intuited (oetry hits) for lines at a
time) (ay dirt? anecdotal after-images) confessional hints) self-dissol#ing details. Dut as ,ith his first boo9) continued attem(ts
at a more colloGuial (hrasing can0t esca(e an e#er-so-slight drift to,ard antiGuarianism?
there are things created of a si4e
We can0t and ,eren0t meant to understand)
As fish 9no, nothing of the sun that ,rites
"ts bright gly(hs on the blac9 ,a#es o#erhead.
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They Come
BY CATHY PARK HONG
Accessibility Dlues
BY CHRISTINA PUGH
The Pear
BY JANE HIRSHFIELD
The result is a begloomed) (iecemeal rhetoric that feels li9e (adding) and a coo9ie-cutter form that reGuires it. What constitutes
(oetry has al,ays been an o(en Guestion) but ne#er Guite as o(en as today ,hen the alternati#es a#ailable ha#e made a (oet0s
(rosodic choices nearly im(ossible to antici(ate. To argue) as Kirsch does in The Modern Element) that rhyme) done e+(ertly)
can be 7considerably more sur(rising than the most estranging e+(erimentation8 is to be a (oet ,ho has settled his o,n
Guestions about form. 2or that reason) des(ite Kirsch0s con#iction that traditional forms are a (ath to the (resent and not the
(ast) " can0t hel( but feel that the best e+(lanation for his choices in "n#as!ons is (ro#ided by Paul NalOry) ,ho said that the
chief (leasure of rhyme is the rage it ins(ires in its o((onents. When Kirsch describes) in a (oem about a burial) the tossing of
earth onto a cas9et and 7the strea9y clum(sMThat scatter ,ith a soft unans,ered 9noc9)8 he might as ,ell be ,riting about the
(ublic rece(tion of his o,n (oet-critic sounds.
Originally Published: April 24, 2008
MORE FROM THIS ISSUE
This prose originally appeared in the May 2008 issue of Poetry magazine
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