Starry Knott |
Bill Knott is at his dyspeptic best in two recent posts (here and here), but the second is a good deal less funny and a good deal sadder. Recalling Jessica Smith’s post about the cruelty of many comments posted to Ron Silliman’s blog (not Silliman’s fault, I’m sure everyone agrees), Knott lists a number of nasty, cruel, arrogant and/or pointless statements from reviews of his first three books. I speak, as Perpetual Birders know, as a fan of Knott’s poetry, a fact that leads me to wonder about the streak of meanness he has inspired from very early on. All of the remarks Knott quotes betray an undercurrent of almost hysterical fear. Of what? I suspect it comes down to the fact that Knott is the Real Thing, and most of his attackers (to put it mildly) are not–i.e., they are not Knott!
I love your Zoe Anglesey story, Lyle. I've had the same kind of experience: a negative review whose citations contradict the reviewer's conclusions! To me, the point of reviewing any book is to quote generously from it regardless of one's own opinion. For or against, a reviewer should adequately represent the book under discussion. This is the reason I seldom read Silliman's
I've also much enjoyed Bill Knott's poetry, especially the early "Naomi" books.<br /><br />I followed the links in this post, and found myself over the past couple of days chasing the various threads out there regarding Ron Silliman's decision to turn off and disappear the comment box in his blog.<br /><br />I've only dropped in at his blog occasionally over the past
Thanks Joseph,<br /><br />Knott's tone sometimes is a bit hard for me, so good to read you share my t"take" on this one. <br /><br />Patchen did get "political" (or current event topical or didatctic about human affairs involving killing and hypocrisy might be a better way to put it), but also wrote others. His surreal or fantastical poem-tales seem not political, and I
I think you read Knott just right. Seems to me he's gently rebuking Ms. Smith for taking these things to heart, and while I've never read Šalamun's complete review, I'm willing to bet he wasn't serious about that flail.<br /><br />Thanks for the note about Patchen. He's a poet I loved early on, then tired of, but lately have been returning to with fresh pleasure. Knott
Dear Joseph, <br /><br /> I take Knott's prefatory comments as satirical. (He in fact did not stop writing poetry after those reviews.) Do you think I mis-read it? <br /><br />Knott's collection of quotations from reviews that trashed his poetry proves again the point I've been trying to make around and about, which is something I learned from reading David Markson's last four
Speaking of nakedness! Knott has begun <a href="http://billknottpoetry.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html" rel="nofollow">posting scans</a> of working drafts on his poetry blog. I imagine Mr. Šalamun's are safely squirreled away in file boxes, awaiting their high profile donation to a suitably high profile university library.
Knott may not be a gentleman, but he seems to be a gentle man–one of the most <i>vulnerable</i> poets around. I value that in his work. Unlike poets who genuflect to Pound, who was given to emotionally distant artifice and pomposity (not to deny his great artistry wherever it shines through the rubble), Knott has always, it seems to me, made poetry a dangerous pleasure. His nakedness scares some
Jeezus, Joe–after reading those vitriolic comments on Bill's poetry, I had half a mind to find some acid and throw it in their critical fa(r)ces–what a trip that would be for them! <br /><br />Thanks for the links.