As an adjunct to my Kneejerk Poetry list (and just in time for back to school shopping) I'm now assembling a list of names and phrases that are sure to generate controversy instantly. This list has been empirically tested, and is 100% guaranteed to work as advertised; no batteries required!
It's all open source, so please add your own! Comment... criticize.. distribute freely!
In no particular order:
Billy Collins
Garrison Keillor
William Logan
Ron Silliman
Ed Dorn
James Wright
Frank O'Hara
Karl Marx
Kenneth Goldsmith
AWP
MLA
post-anything
"School of Quietude"
"Third Way"
flarf
slow poetry
fast poetry
conceptual poetry
New American poetry
avant-garde poetry
Poetry
class
money (too much, or too little for poetry)
poetry contests, aka Faux-etry
academia
theory
criticism
canon
Poet Laureate of the United States
The following do not generate controversy:
Walter Benjamin
Theodor Adorno
Don Share was the editor of Poetry magazine from 2013-2020. His books of poetry are Wishbone (2012),...
Read Full Biography