Letter to the Editor

Dear Editor,

I am a librarian responsible for ordering poetry materials for a large metropolitan system. It's difficult to convince our smaller branches to buy poetry collections for their patrons, as poetry often doesn't get much use in many neighborhoods, and with shrinking budgets each purchase is carefully considered for circulation value to the agency. So many people feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the genre that it can be difficult to encourage novice readers to keep at it.

I greatly appreciated Dana Gioia's fair-minded look at Garrison Keillor's book. Whether or not it was to his own taste, he was able to appreciate the value of such a collection for the common reader and shared his thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of the selections therein. This is exactly what is needed.

And then there's poor August Kleinzahler . . . who impl[ies] that the only value in poetry is whether it appeals to the elite. This is a serious disservice to the genre, and to the public, which hopefully will contribute future readers and writers of poetry. People cannot just leap in and immediately appreciate the most complex examples of poetry, but must start simply and work at building an appreciation through exposure to the many aspects of the genre. And many don't want to become members of the vanguard but simply wish to enjoy the simple pleasures poetry has to offer. Kleinzahler's elitist denial of this necessity and/or preference is what has alienated many from the genre, thus dangerously weakening its base, and it is ridiculous to so gleefully rejoice in this poisonous sentiment in such a public forum. Denying someone the pleasure of poetry simply because it appeals to the masses is cruel and small-minded.