Wow J.F., that was beautiful and melancholy at the same time.

There are places out there that would publish CAS, were he alive anow and writing. For instance, until recently Contemporary Rhyme published, exclusively, rhyming verse on the internet, and CAS would have been welcome there. And, had he been situated in Australia, there are a number of journals that would have taken him.

Many of the speculative markets are not averse to formalist poetry; Ann K. Schwader finds plenty of markets for her formalist work, according to an email that she sent me some years ago, and I have succeeded with both my free verse and my formalist verse.

In addition, there is the thriving amateur press scene that would have attracted CAS, as well as, to blow my own trumpet, my various little magazines of verse, some of which are still going.

And there is also the possibility of self-publishing....

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

When I first posted, I had in mind to exclude the "speculative markets" and the idea of self-publishing from my query. I am aware of some of the neo-formalist outlets (there's actually a surprising amount of free verse in The Star Treader, albeit true vers libre, and not the obnoxious, illiterate modern type), but I wonder how receptive they would be to some of CAS's pre-Sandalwood subject matter?

At any rate, I am less sanguine than you are, but I am sure that there are possibilities. I am also sure, however, that there has never been a worse age than our own for an unknown poet who is actually a poet to try to publish and make a name for himself. In the U.S., at least, access to the prestigious poetry markets is tightly controlled by the academic mafia of MFA students and their professors. Believe me, if you are not one of "them", and you dare to submit work there, then all you have to look forward to is an automatically generated rejection. These people won't even read what you write unless you trumpet your MFA, your academic affiliation, and the list of "prizes" (another incestuous racket) that you've won. If you happen to be a real poet, to boot, then so much the worse for you.

In this environment, CAS would be a minnow in a shark tank, and would indeed likely have no other recourse that the ignominy of Internet posting, or of cheap, "on-demand" or other self-publishing.

I understand entirely, and I agree for the most part, however there are changes in the perception of internet-published poetry, since some publications such as Jacket have proved prestigious enough as to warrant consideration.

My experiences with Jacket: it had proved impossible to be considered for publication therein, since the poetry was by invitation only. So, therefore, I resigned myself to forgo the attempt at Minerva's virtue, so to speak, lest I be slapped down in haste and scorn. However, this did not stop me from becoming friends with John Tranter, and, in the process, sharing poetry with him. So, at last, I was invited to submit a piece I shared with him. The conclusion that contacts are more important than content can be drawn, and the political element of the contemporary poetry scene, to allude to Lovecraft's distinction of the types of amateurs, must be dealt with on its own ground, if they are to be persuaded to accept your work, so to speak. This is not to imply that Mr Tranter is such a politician; I understand his worldview when it comes to the aesthetic principles applied to Jacket, and I would follow them at some point, if a certain proposed publication sees light.

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

Thanks for the additional thoughts. It's certainly an interesting subject, and I am glad to know that Internet publishing is perhaps less "bottom of the barrel" than I have assumed--though I still imagine that such publications as Jacket are the exception, rather than the rule.

Side note: Jacket's home page trumpets a blurb by the Guardian, which proudly announces that in the former, "the slant [is] international modernist and experimental". Based on that description, I am guessing that that crew would not think much of CAS's poetry, either!

You're right about the possibility of CAS' publication in Jacket. Part of its reason-for-being being to showcase and promote Australian poetry in silent juxtaposition with non-Australian work.

It may interest you to hear that I am planning a study of poetic reactions against Modernism among poets in the US and Australia. CAS shall be one of them, Sterling, Lovecraft, Howard and Sidney-Fryer will be the other US poets covered. The title, for me, was the obvious allusion to/pun on Freud, being the all-too predictable Modernism and its Discontents.

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

Quote:

You're right about the possibility of CAS' publication in Jacket. Part of its reason-for-being being to showcase and promote Australian poetry in silent juxtaposition with non-Australian work.

*Chuckles* Point taken, but we both know that that wouldn't be the only reason why CAS, time-transported, would fail to find welcome there.

It's interesting that there's such a nationalist slant on poetic matters these days, by the way.

I saw the reference to your proposed study of poetic anti-Modernism. It's a worthwhile subject, though I hope you can find a more varied roster of poets than the one you've proposed. Have a look at F.L. Lucas, for instance. He was an interesting character: Poet, novelist, critic, and Cambridge don. He also wrote a wonderful contemporary demolition of Eliot's Waste Land. Lucas's introduction to Beddoes's selected poems is superb, as well (a few inevitable quibbles aside).

Oh, and Walter de la Mare, too--he's such an obvious choice, I nearly forgot him! Although--surprise, surprise--his reputation has fallen faster and harder than the stock market in 2008, he had far more influence and a far better contemporary reputation than any of the American poets you cite (perhaps the Australians, too, but I can't speak to that), and he is, in my opinion, a far greater poet than any of the Americans, apart from CAS.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2 Dec 10 | 04:14PM by Absquatch.

I am unfamiliar with F. L. Lucas' work, and I shall take the time to look it up. Thank you.

As for the selection, I decided that concentrating on "major names" would help my argument that Modernism wasn't the sole arena for poetic excellence, and that there is room in the non-Modernists' work, and the anti-Modernists' work to justify the processes of criticism.

Further, where the criticism of Lovecraft, McAuley, Brennan and CAS has encompassed the poetry, there is a greater dearth of writing about Sterling, Sidney-Fryer, McCrae and, Stewart.

In any case, those names so far selected correspond with poets whose work I feel I can saying something about, with some sympathy and knowledge. And that counts, I hope, for something.

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

Your book, your strictures! Note, however, that my edit suggesting de la Mare may have crossed with your reply, above. De la Mare was English, so perhaps he doesn't qualify for the book? Depth and personal interest are important, of course, but so is breadth, I feel. I think it would be a mistake to limit the book's subjects to Americans and Australians, myself, but again, your book, your strictures.

I understand what you mean, regarding the limitation to just Americans and Australians, and I am sure that you could agree that the variety of possibles is such that many more such poets could be named.

I considered that, rather than going for breadth of focus, ten or so poets, in detail, with an emphasis upon descriptive criticism, would work better for my thesis that there is excellence among those not professing allegiance to Modernism as an aesthetic principle.

At some point, I would like to consider an anthology of reactions to The Waste Land, including the F. L. Lucas piece you had kindly brought to my attention, and the obvious example of Lovecraft's "Waste Paper". It would also give me the chance to essay an attempted at the Middle Way, that, while overrated, it has its good points and bad points.

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

Understood, as well, and thanks for the clarification. The thesis that anti-moderns can produce excellent work obviously calls for a different approach from that of a work that would explore a broader history of anti-modernist poetry. I still hope that you'll reconsider de la Mare, though; he'll really strengthen your case. Calonlan would agree, I think, although I certainly would not presume to speak for him.

That said, I also hope you'll devote several pages to the "Ern Malley" hoax. Bravo to your countrymen McAuley and Stewart for that gem.

I would love, at some point, to be able to devote the space, time and effort to a fuller history of English-language poetry in the20th century, to cover those points that you bring up, as well as the poets in addition to those already mentioned. It would cover Canadian and New Zealand poetry as well, both areas of interest, and of great mystery, to me.

Yes, I shall be covering Ern Malley, especially in my coverage of McAuley and Stewart. he is too important a figure in the history of Australian poetry to be ignored.

I would add that de la Mare deserves a wider and sympathetic study in his own right; your thoughts?

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

I've trumpeted de la Mare's virtues on this forum at every opportunity. As to your question, I am not familiar enough with the secondary literature about him to comment, although I was annoyed that the author of the Twayne's monograph on de la Mare essentially shoved his poetry aside and concentrated on his fiction. There's an excellent biography of de la Mare available, as well. In any case, I think that studying him from the perspective of anti-Modernism would be a valuable undertaking.

Since you're also interested in Sterling, I would add that the Twayne's volume about him is quite good, although at the end of the book the author cannot help lamenting Sterling's anti-Modernism, and compares Sterling unfavorably to Robinson Jeffers. There's a certain irony here, as Jeffers was in many respects anti-modern, himself. For this reason, his work has suffered an exile to oblivion almost as profound as Sterling's, thanks to the modern "high-brows" whom CAS so rightly loathed.

Quick note on Erm Malley, whose story I wish more knew. Kenneth Koch, a wretched New York School "poet" and professor of literature, was among those who believed that, hoaxes aside, Malley's work was truly great modern poetry. For many die-hards, the Emperor's New Clothes will always consist of beautiful and exotic fabric.

I shall hunt up the biography (I have an inordinant fondness for biographies of poets) and shall look into the secondary literature when I can get a chance. The likelihood of a study on him from an anti-Modernist position, from myself, is slim, since there is so much more I have planned.

Thanks for the tip re: Sterling. I shall hunt up that volume. As for Jeffers, his collected poetry has recently been published, in five or so volumes. I cannot afford them, but I dream.

I don't remember who said it, but a critic once remarked that good poets in their own right seem incapable of writing genuinely bad poetry to order. With Malley, there is a certain something there that appeals, and the best of it does have its points of interest. For someone like myself, at home in modernism and anti-modernism (I'm still coming to terms with postmodernism) in poetry, it is easy to see why many modernists are fascinated by the ludic aspects of the hoax. Have you access to Michael Heyward, The Ern Malley Affair (St Lucia : University of Queensland Press, 1993)?

Blog: The Cruellest Month -- [the-cruellest-month.blogspot.com.au]
Website: [www.phillipaellis.com]

To get back to the original question (no offense intended),...

I think it would be published in one of those oversized journals of
poetry whose cover composition is one long blathering string of names
in various fonts and/or colors like, " Harry A. Potter, Huey Louey Duck,
Candy Whitman, Eagar Alex Popery, Clark A. Smith, Billy Bag O'Doughnuts."
Etc,etc. ( and don't you wish *your* name was on the list so *you* could
be poet too? Aren't you just greeeeeen with envy?)

And there CAS would be- lost in the Cultural Oblivion that is the Modern World.
No one would read him, no one would discover him, no one would care.
Although maybe you read something by him in Eng Litt. 101 - or was that a
movie you saw somewhere once? Can't remember,... But speaking of Poets,
wasn't "Dead Poet's Society" the coolest movie ever!? Was this Smith guy it
that one?

Sorry Guys. It that Cynical enough for ya?

Cathexis