Shall I compare them to good poetry?
The lines are most atrocious, bordering
On adolescent ravings. Gallantry
Is pissed upon by a limp phallic spring.
They bravely condemn racism in the
United States in all their college lines
Ink-jetted in the racist century
Obama was elected, hate declines.
But surely, despite this, they have a point?
But, no – their mindless Marxism is flat,
Pathetic, most embarrassing. Anoint
Yourselves, you silly lines, with flames grown fat.
Such self-important poetry’s not art –
It's nothing but a psychopathic fart.
8 comments:
What poem are you talking about?
I'm unimpressed by everything of his I've read, but I make a few direct references to his "Why The Young Men Are So Ugly".
That and the weird paranoid one about the cold locomotive from Canada or whatever are probably the worst I've read. He occasionally almost achieves a sense of humour, but in a poet that doesn't cut it, IMO.
Everything of his I've read reads like those Freshmen poets who haven't read anything for fear that they will sound like someone else, and are desperately trying to sound "important".
I like them better than the MFA poets who STILL haven't read anything except the work of other MFA poets and are desperately trying to sound trivial for fear that someone else might think they're trying to sound important or, worse, that they might piss off some "big dog" PC fascist in the academic writing world.
The trouble with constantly worrying about giving offense is that the stakes end up so small that no one cares.
BTW, I picked up Frederick Feirstein's Survivors at Booked Up out in Archer City. It's not bad.
Yeah, but Hoagland is the "big dog" PC fascist -- and which is worse, the bully, or the coward?
I like Fierstein's stuff too.
I took a look at Hoagland's poetry... again. He doesn't do much for me. It's flat stuff that dips in and out of cliches, truisms and platitudes.
//My sister just stood still for thirty seconds,
amazed about the way that things can go,//
The line is about as graceless and insipid as they come. But I can see why he would be popular with younger readers (high school and college students). It's accessible in the same way that bad beer is cheap and popular. It gets you drunk - and maybe laid.
Yeah, it's amazing how bad he is. I htink he's such a huge influence because almost any idiot could imitate his style and content. That IS a horrendous line.
I like your analogy with cheap beer. To continue the metaphor: and when you're an adult, you end up being embarrased that you ever thought you liked the stuff.
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