I came across this image on a Michaux website yesterday.

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"Your superlatives are null and void." Well said, Jordan.

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My word count on my wordprocessor keeps a running tab of how many words I have in a given document. I can't help looking at it constantly. I have 1000 words on my Lola Velasco paper. I'm still having a hard time figuring out what my point is. Can you write a critical paper without having an axe to grind? Is it enough just to like something, or do you have to make some *claim* that the work deconstructs Western metaphysics or shows the one true path to lyric freedom? Is there a way of making a claim without making a claim? In the academic context, the claim I am making--that this poetry doesn't allow for "leveraged" arguments--sounds reactionary. The poetry is of a lightness and grace that make such arguments seem excessive.