"Anatole France is said to have spent a great deal of time searching for the <i>least possible</i> variant that would turn the most worn-out and commonest phrases of journalism into something distinguished. Such research is sometimes termed 'classicism'. This is the greatest possible remove from the usual English stylist's trend or urge toward a style different from everyone else's." --EP ABC OF READING At 07:55 AM 8/1/01 -0700, Stoner James wrote: >A good topic for a poem: The hermits grocery store! > >Few people have read the Cantos. Obviously, the allusion is difficult. > People don't read this kind of poetry anymore. If they do they are >the erudites like the people on this list. In fact, I often lament the >fact that my own poetry cannot be understood nor taken seriously >because people are not grounded in the classics. Pound is a classic but >most people like fast food in a fast paced society. It is true that >literature must be easily accessible and digestible for people to >"tolerate" it. Most people who get a Ph.D. in Literature are finding >out that literature is rarely taught anymore, they can't find jobs. >The comp and rhet people have taken over and Dante and Vergil (and >Pound, Wilbur, Eliot) have been purged from the curriculum. Because >the public doesn't have a firm grounding in the classics, allusions are >now made to Nike, McDonalds, and Steven King. Yes, we are the hermetic >types. Somebody has to keep this stuff alive until Rome falls, once >again. > >Stoner, the Ascetic > >__________________________________________________ >Do You Yahoo!? >Make international calls for as low as $.04/minute with Yahoo! Messenger >http://phonecard.yahoo.com/