Danielle Chapman responds:
Reginald Shepherd makes a compelling argument for difficult poems, but I can't see what it has to do with the confused poetic "thought" represented in his anthology. In fact, the very lucidity of his prose, because it actually gives you something to respond to, something to think about, amounts to an unintentional indictment of the work he defends. There's a vast difference between the poet who employs a powerful intellect to reconcile genuine experience—including original thought—and the one who manufactures pseudo-intellectual, pseudo-experimental poems as an excuse to show off his or her "intelligence." Most of the poets in the Iowa Anthology fall into the latter category.
Reginald Shepherd makes a compelling argument for difficult poems, but I can't see what it has to do with the confused poetic "thought" represented in his anthology. In fact, the very lucidity of his prose, because it actually gives you something to respond to, something to think about, amounts to an unintentional indictment of the work he defends. There's a vast difference between the poet who employs a powerful intellect to reconcile genuine experience—including original thought—and the one who manufactures pseudo-intellectual, pseudo-experimental poems as an excuse to show off his or her "intelligence." Most of the poets in the Iowa Anthology fall into the latter category.
Originally Published: October 30, 2005
Danielle Chapman Responds