http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2008/02/my-new-new-years-resolutions/ A blog from the Poetry Foundation where contemporary poets debate classic and contemporary poetry from America and around the world. Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:12:11 -0600 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2008/02/my-new-new-years-resolutions/#comment-2877 Andrew Shields Sun, 17 Feb 2008 19:35:38 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=713#comment-2877 The hardest one of these might be number 6: it is SO hard to remember that one did not even ever really WANT to be one of the cool kids! Because, after all, they were supposed to be cool, and everyone wants to be cool, right? The hardest one of these might be number 6: it is SO hard to remember that one did not even ever really WANT to be one of the cool kids! Because, after all, they were supposed to be cool, and everyone wants to be cool, right?

]]> http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2008/02/my-new-new-years-resolutions/#comment-2876 Joseph Hutchison Sun, 17 Feb 2008 17:48:44 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=713#comment-2876 A wise list, Reginald! Number 5 in particular. (I love the "mental effigy" concept.) Like movie actors with whom people fall in love or in hate, writers—especially in their online incarnations (incybernations?)—are at the mercy of the frustrated, the angry, the small-minded, and the frankly insane. Did you see <i>Bill Moyers' Journal</i> Friday night? He interviewed Susan Jacoby regarding her new book, <i>The Age of American Unreason</i>, and during the conversation she mentioned a 2006 National Geographic poll of 18- to 24-year-olds which found that only 23 percent of those with some college could locate Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel on a map. Not a <i>blank</i> map, mind you, but a map with the names of the countries shown! In other words, these beneficiaries of our educational system couldn't identify the Middle East—otherwise, they would have discovered all four countries there. My point is this: When respondents to your posts flaunt their ignorance, remember that they are members of that benighted 23 percent—and therefore their opinions are utterly irrelevant. Keep up the good work! A wise list, Reginald! Number 5 in particular. (I love the “mental effigy” concept.) Like movie actors with whom people fall in love or in hate, writers—especially in their online incarnations (incybernations?)—are at the mercy of the frustrated, the angry, the small-minded, and the frankly insane.
Did you see Bill Moyers’ Journal Friday night? He interviewed Susan Jacoby regarding her new book, The Age of American Unreason, and during the conversation she mentioned a 2006 National Geographic poll of 18- to 24-year-olds which found that only 23 percent of those with some college could locate Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel on a map. Not a blank map, mind you, but a map with the names of the countries shown! In other words, these beneficiaries of our educational system couldn’t identify the Middle East—otherwise, they would have discovered all four countries there.
My point is this: When respondents to your posts flaunt their ignorance, remember that they are members of that benighted 23 percent—and therefore their opinions are utterly irrelevant.
Keep up the good work!

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