went to a slobfest in tie and jacket...

And what did I learn? It's very simple: When people cease to take themselves seriously, most importantly, how they look to other people, they themselves will cease to be taken seriously. So now the situation has finally hit rock bottom. We live in a culture that is no longer taken seriously. A man in a tie is an intimidating presence. He looks like 'the man.' the law, an authority figure, the school principal, and nobody wants to look that that. So let us look like we've gone to hell, instead. We are a nation of the fat and slovenly now, all ringlet-ed, tattooed, drunk, high, slobbering, stupid, unintelligible, boorish, abusive and narcissistic. If yer gonna' go to Hell, anyway, you may as well dress for the trip. At the slobfest in question, some fat little man in his death metal attire smirked at me as if to say "dude, you don't belong here." I smiled back as if to say "little one, I don't ever want to be confused with you."

Where's a poet spozed hang his hat?

Ah, poetry, that that that...balm in Gilead. Been perusing blogs of 'otherwise' though it sez it be poetry. I want to ask the dumb bastard producing his 'clever' bilge, "do you know what you're doing besides going out of your way to make things harder for the reader?" News flash, folks: poetry ain't supposed to be hard to read; it's supposed to be hard to write. If it's hard to write but easy to read then it may or may not be poetry; but if it is easy to write [just throw words together out of context] then, as a consequence, you've a puzzle not a poem, and most likely an unsolvable one. Poetry must engage first and entertain. Then and only then [are you hearing this, little poets?] it challenges a re-read. Not to follow this simple directive is not to write poetry at all. At ALL! It's not for the general public to be put in a position where they have to KNOW what we are doing, any more than the average film goer should have to know about the subtleties of that craft. It's silly. Granted an understanding may increase enjoyment; but I tell you there are legions of frauds out there writing absolute shit that is perfectly meaningless and completely unmusical but they pass it off as poetry because it's a way of making their mud pies seem like clever compositions. How do you tell? Anal-eyes the damned things, that's how. Look for words that have no context except to seem...MYSTERIOUS somehow. I talk to people all the time who complain that they don't read poetry because they don't have to. These people have been cheated by a lot of confidence frauds. I tell them they shouldn't have to know how to read poetry any more than they should have to know how to watch a movie. But don't forget the popcorn.

Glad we got that harangue out of the way.

Have been reading old Mark Strand poems online and finally begin to see his trick. He evokes far less than he says. I think this is his way of avoiding sub-textual analysis, likely in the hands of angry feminist deconstructionists/jilted lovers, ex-wives, dates left holding the tab, etc.