Of course a poem is a two-way street. No poem is any good if it doesnt suggest to the reader things from his own mind and recollection that he will read into it, and will add to what the poet has suggested. But I do think poetry readings are very important. – James Laughlin
I think theres no excuse for the American poetry reader not knowing a good deal about what is going on in the rest of the world. – James Laughlin
I think we will always have the impulse towards visual poetry with us, and I wouldnt agree with Bly that its a bad thing. It depends on the ability of the individual poet to do it well, and to make a shape which is interesting enough to hold your attention. – James Laughlin
I think that is where poetry reading becomes such an individual thing. I mean I have friend who like poets who just dont say anything to me at all, I mean they seem to me rather ordinary and pedestrian. – James Laughlin
I also take pleasure in the so-called negative power in Grotjahns work. That is, I love his paintings for what they are not. Unlike much art of the past decade, Grotjahn isnt simply working from a prescribed checklist of academically acceptable, curator-approved isms and twists. – Jerry Saltz