Twofer ...

... Sound and Sense. (Hat tip, Dave Lull.)

In the preface to ­“On Poets & ­Poetry,” [William H. Pritchard] extols the ­c­lassroom as “the only place where ­something like a ­conversation can be started” about literature. “One doesn’t expect to have such a conversation,” he sighs, “when dining at a friend’s or even when passing the time with a ­professional colleague.” If even English professors can’t chat about their reading, what hope is there for the rest of us?

Lucky me. Debbie and I were at a dinner party Saturday night during which there was a long discussion of what the essential notes of poetry are. Our host was a psychiatrist, and guests included a composer, a harpsichordist, two recent - and extremely bright and thoughtful - college grads, two retired teachers (including Debbie).

I spent some time chatting with David Yezzi at the WCU Poetry Conference. We had hoped to sit down for one of those video interviews, but there was no time. He is a very pleasant fellow and a very, very good poet.

I like both Stevens and Frost, but on a regular basis read Stevens more. Recently, while reading Santayana's The Life of Reason, I was struck by how much Santayana's prose style reminded me of Stevens's poetry. Stevens, of course, studied under Santayana and his poetry, it has always seemed to me, clearly reflects that.