The trouble with the performance poets is that they don't seem to have read anything. So there is not a real sense of the poetic tradition in their work.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I have the feeling that a lot of poets writing now are - they sort of tap dance through it.
Written poetry is different. Best thing is to see it in performance first, then read it. Performance is more provocative.
They say poets write mostly for themselves; if anyone else likes it, well and good, if not, it doesn't matter; certainly, not to me.
It is my belief that many who think they dislike poetry are really poetical in their natures and are indebted to it, more than they imagine, for the success they may have achieved, even in practical pursuits, and for the enjoyment their lives have afforded them.
Poets are like the decathletes of literature.
By definition, poetry works with qualities and dynamics that mainstream society is reluctant to face head-on. It's an interesting phenomenon that by necessity, poetry is just below the radar.
Writers must... take care of the sensibility that houses the possibility of poems.
Many poets, as you know, are not good readers.
I'm uncomfortable with the focus on the poet and not on the poem.
All the modern verse plays, they're terrible; they're mostly about the poetry. It's more important that the play is first.