Do Poets Get Better?
Let's talk a minute about contemporary poets. Let's say I tell you to go check out Bill Knott (as I did in my last post). You go to the library, and see seven or eight of his books. How do you choose which one to decide?
I generally choose his most recent work, thinking it will be the best. This assumes that later work is informed by earlier work, and that poets get better over time. That said, I can think of some counterexamples. "My Alexandria" is my favorite Mark Doty; "What the Living Do" is my favorite Marie Howe.
What say you, LiveJournal?
I generally choose his most recent work, thinking it will be the best. This assumes that later work is informed by earlier work, and that poets get better over time. That said, I can think of some counterexamples. "My Alexandria" is my favorite Mark Doty; "What the Living Do" is my favorite Marie Howe.
What say you, LiveJournal?