Now You've Done It. I'm Pissed.

Ron Silliman has yet another post here (see the Nov. 3rd entry) where he tries to trace the poetic genealogies of everybody. Not a problem. We love you, Ron. Good stuff. The problem comes in the comments to the post. Kirby Olson says, "How many poems could stand up in the marketplace?" and, "Bukowski I think could hold his own, as could the other top two Beat poets."

Way to go, Kirby!! We're cheering for you here, baby.

But then Curtis Faville comes back with a zinger. Watch out, Kirby!

He says, "Kirby, why are you always trying to seek the lowest common denominator? So-called notions of "popular" poetry rarely pass muster. "Popular" ballads and ditties and rags have always been around--but that doesn't mean we compare them to Dante and Goethe and Shakespeare, does it?" Ouch. That hurts (in an aside here, I thought that Shakespeare WAS a writer of those "popular rags" back in the day, and wasn't immediately accepted by the literary establishment). And again, "How can you compare Bukowski to Browning, or Tennyson, or Frost--each of whom was extraordinarily popular in their time." A person could think that this would be enough. Surely Kirby has hit the mat now. Will he get up? Is he down for the count? WAIT A MINUTE!! Curtis Faville hits Kirby while Kirby's trying to recover!! Ladies and Gentlemen, this is outrageous! This is absurd!! This is like watching my grandmum undressing in the men's locker room because she's blind and can't read the signs any more and hasn't the foggiest idea of anything and I just can't stop looking!!! "Yours sounds like an argument AGAINST quality, in favor of some populist doggerel. You can't be serious."

Come on Kirby, get up. Get up, Kirby. Lay him out. Use your superMikeTysonUppercutLeft to his nose, baby, come on, I got a fifty riding on this, To the Moon baby, To The MOON!

Kirby: "I myself would rather have Moore or Stevens than Bukowski, for certain"

Bah. I should have known better than to bet on a guy named after a videogame.

Populist doggerel. Pfah. You know, whether or not people refuse to see it, there's a certain wisdom that belongs to the masses. And when a guy like Bukowski can arguably be called the most popular poet of the post-war twentieth century, maybe he's onto something. Myself, I think I'd take Thomas Jefferson over King George any day of the week.

Now look. You've made me take a stand on something. There goes any career I might have had in politics. Goddamn you, Curtis Faville.

ps - After everything's finished and the fat lady sings and the cows come tripping home after a night painting the pasture, David Bowie said it best: "John, I'm only dancing. She turns me on. Don't get me wrong. I'm only dancing."