Christian Wiman: You write in your essay that we have “communication sickness.” I wonder if you might explain that for us.
Tony Hoagland: We are terribly, terribly wary of untrustworthy speech. The ways in which we feel helpless and hopeless about our public discourse and about our situation... in a very commercial society. What I’m really concerned about is that poetry, as a result of that “communication sickness,” as a result of that profound disillusionment, and legitimate disillusionment, is withdrawing from the realm of common speech and is no longer building the bridge between [itself and] ordinary readers...
- Tony Hoagland, in conversation with Christian Wiman and Don Share in the September 2010 Poetry Magazine Podcast, discussing his essay "Recognition, Vertigo, and Passionate Worldliness" which appears in the September 2010 issue of Poetry Magazine.
No comments:
Post a Comment