Letter to the Editor
BY Henry Taylor
Dear Editors,
Brenda Wineapple's review of Dana Gioia's new book ("Can Criticism Matter?" May 2005) raises the issue of Robinson's Curse: anyone who mentions Edwin Arlington Robinson has at least a thirty-percent chance of calling him Edward. It doesn't matter how much one knows about poetry in general, or American poetry, or even Robinson; nor does the eminence of one's editors matter. It happens, that's all. It may be futile or even dangerous to consider doing anything about it.
Poet and translator Henry Taylor was born in Lincoln, Virginia on June 21, 1942. He earned a BA from the University of Virginia and an MA from Hollins University. Taylor’s many poetry collections include Crooked Run (2006); Understanding Fiction: Poems 1986-1996; The Flying Change (1985), for which he received the Pulitzer Prize; An Afternoon of Pocket Billiards (1975); and The Horse Show at Midnight...