Who is Poetry's Biggest Tool?
Everyody likes a good poll, so here's one from Poetry Snark, to you, with love. Who is poetry's biggest suck-up? I'm not talking about the Power Brokers but the power-broker wannabes, the aspiring next generation of fingers-on-the-pulse academic cronies, puffing the pipe of worshipful conformism in the name of an inflated career. So who is the most snivelingly pathetic, butt-smooching, over-ranked young playa in poe-biz? I'm going to suggest a few contenders below. Vote for one of these, or suggest your own in the thread for this post. We'll crown the lucky winner in a week or so. My suggestions for the throne, in no particular order:
a) Brian Henry
b) Todd Swift
c) Aaron McCollough
d) Joshua Clover
Your choice? Your alternate nominee? Your tale of horror?
posted by Snark @ 12:52 PM
16 Comments:
Brian Henry -- most overrated poet in America
Holy crap, I've met Brian Henry. The old US Information Agency sent him to Moscow as a speaker on American poetry in 1999 when I worked there at the Embassy. I regret that I don't remember enough about him or the other guy from Verse who went with him to be able to add snark.
http://tattoosinblue.blogspot.com/
I meant to add...underrated.
I'd have to go with Clover. Anyone who has seen that smoocher in action knows what I mean, but then he's also the only one of these people who I've met.
If Clover is Batman, then Geoffrey G O'Brien is Robin. They are a dynamic duo of tooliness with their gellid curls and affected intellect. I have seen both of them in action, working a room and belittling people in a tag team formation. They suck. May they tool in hell.
If it's possible to suck up to yourself (and give or take a rib or two I'm sure it is) then it's Todd Swift by a country mile. Just like at the man's website and see for yourself!
Snark has to agree about that website. Here's the link, but be warned, I'm going to snark this soon on the front page, so it might be a bit of a spoiler:
http://www.toddswift.com/
Toooooooooooooooooooooool
Aaron McCollough X 6,000
see winnow press thread at foetry
Todd Swift is Canada's biggest poetry tool for sure, but that's sort of like being the most outstanding opera singer in Greenland.
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Any poll of UK poets would have to put Mark Ford fairly high on the list. All the energy that goes into the non-stop loop of reviews and blurbs circulating between Ford and Ashbery could power a small, or even a fairly large American town.
Karen Volkman, hands down.
Steve Mueske
joy, is that you? how's it going?
If you're talking about tools, it's amazing no one mentioned the truly biggest living tool in poetry.
Dana Gioia
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