the rix mix

Salvador Dali's very legitimate disappointment that when he ordered a boiled lobster he was never served a boiled telephone. I may not deliver that boiled telephone very often, but I've always expected it, & I've always advised others, especially young people, to do the same, knowing that they weren't getting it from their parents, their teachers, or the paid arbiters of culture. Being aware of how infrequently contemporary poetry offers the dish, I believe the poet has an obligation to point to the poetry of experience itself as a "boiled telephone," & to regard seeing, hearing, curiosity, patience & acceptance of whatever happens next as learnable skills - which may render unnecessary the actual making of poems, or at the least, instill a valuable skepticism toward art, the artifact, & the people who sell it or worship it.

Labels: about writing