At least Daniel really knows about the working class. I certainly know what it's like to be poor. I grew up poor in the '40s and '50s in a single-parent home, for a while in the shadows of the factories that flourished then. I never really acquired a working-class accent -- or even a Philly accent -- thanks to the Religious of the Sacred Heart, the Oblates of St. Francis De Sales, and the Jesuits.
I was never interested in writing poetry about my class, because I wanted to write poetry like the poets I admired, and they tended to be people like Keats.
I was never interested in writing poetry about my class, because I wanted to write poetry like the poets I admired, and they tended to be people like Keats.
For Michael Schaffer: Among the Best Books of the Year, you missed the best of all! A Bite of the Apple by yours truly tops them all but, unfortunately, hasn't gotten the promotion which it so richly deserves. For a free copy, check www.edwardvaughn.com. Have a great 2011!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this insightful article. Some of the comments about how clueless some zones of the world of poetry can be about class are very telling. I've often felt that the avowed politics of a lot of the LangPoets was hollow.
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