2 from After the Chinese

Poetics

In coterie arguments nothing but geese babble! Dwarves watching a play what can they see, or do? Ape the good, the bad, and the bubbly?

Letter to Mei Yao Ch’en

Dear Mei, I like your idea of trying out poems on servants and deleting anything not clear.  Some of today’s established poets might be disconcerted the Brazilian girl making their latte to go, or the Haitian bus boy, or the house cleaner, might understand their poems.  As poetry becomes further compartmentalized and shrouded in theory, it’s hard to find the poem swimming in the murky tides.  Imagine a plumber who can’t unplug your toilet unless you’ve cracked the code behind the snake? Love, J.