I've always been keenly interested in surrealism, yet disappointed by most surrealist poetry. There seems to be a gap there. Is it because Breton threw out anyone half-way interesting from his movement? Because it lends itself to a certain "softness" in Merwin, Tate, Simic, Strand, even Paz? Aleixandre, Lorca, are extraordinary poets. Breton himself has often disappointed me. Eluard, brilliant in individual poems. Char, not surrealist enough to enter the discussion, although I am attracted to his work for other reasons. How could surrealists turn Stalinist? Aragon, Neruda... "Surrealism is the business of poets who have no business with surrealism." Am I quoting that right?

Getting ready to teach the third day of second grade.