Poems demand a concentrated lingering to which we are unaccustomed. This is why they cause discomfort. When we stand still in one place, attempting to document and respect the details, we feel as vulnerable as a small creature in an open field beneath avian predators. Rapid and sequential page turning gives us a sense of progress and accomplishment, relieving us from the double threat of frustration and impatience.
- Jennifer Moxley, from her essay "Fragments of a Broken Poetics" in the Spring 2010 issue of Chicago Review. You can read the whole thing here.
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