Letter from Poetry Magazine

Letter to the Editor

by Frederick Pool
Dear Editor,

I found the invective directed at the office of poet laureate an exercise in self-indulgence. The poet laureate will never seriously dictate or discourage the anonymous strivings of those who labor for nothing but the pleasure of their task. I find no useful purpose served in screaming insults at an honorarium. The expression of poetry, the honest creative act, is not refined in this way.

Portland, Oregon

Originally Published: October 30, 2005

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This prose originally appeared in the November 2004 issue of Poetry magazine

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