Larry and Larry

Last night I scrabbled for the last time with Sean Bishop, a poet in the UH MFA program. We couldn't have a more different approach to reading and writing, but we're aptly matched scrabblers and enjoy bitching about our prospective poetry universes. We were sparring about whether Larry Levis is a genius or a hack, I realized that I had no idea what I was talking about. I've literally forgotten what that kind of poetry is like. It's gone. He said the name "Larry Levis" and I knew I'd read at least one of his books and couldn't remember anything about the poems, what they tended to, what they read like, zip. I just knew he was in my don't-care-about box. So this morning I went a-hunting for Levis online since all my books are currently in boxes.

I still have no answers. I tried reading about some 7 or 8 poems and didn't really read them. It wouldn't be fair to argue if they're good or whever. There were these lines that distracted me to the point where I couldn't pay attention. So Sean, if your reading, here's the lines I stopped on:

Anastasia & Sandman : I refuse to explain.

For Zbigniew Herbert, Summer, 1971, Los Angeles: No matter how hard I listen, the wind speaks

In a Country: we could / make out the wide river for the first time, blue and / moving.

Readings in French : Which is what happens


I think that's about all I can offer as a rebuttal. A puny little rebuttal. Might even be called a gripe.

*******

This morning Paul sent me the letter from another Larry. Such a wonderful mangled letter, full of broken stuff and misdirection.

'....Abt 1970, 9-10 yrs after the
freon gas, my desire to write long pieces dimmed enough so
I got willing enough to end a poem at any point, any word,
I think that's how the poems got clearer, while before
they were Obscure much of the time....'
and so on...


I have nothing else to say on why I like and don't like these things. It's all very uninteresting, if not totally irrelevant. But I will say I'm very thankful I have people to talk to and argue with. very.