I've been thinking a bit about the "Foetry" site. Poets in the mainstream are going to pick manuscripts from Iowa graduates not because of where they got their degrees, but because that program represents the "cutting edge" of the mainstream, if that's not a contradiction in terms. That is to say, there is a basic Iowa style that is renovated every five years or so. Iowa will absorb a little postmodern Ashberyianism, ma non troppo. But they are top dog, "The Yankees," if you follow Jordan's analogy. This is different from out-and-out cronyism, where a teacher will select own student for "open" competition.

The mixture of hard facts and reckless innuendo at the Foetry site is disturbing to me. If Bin Ramke selects Iowa graduates repeatedly for a certain prize, it is probably because that's the kind of poetry he likes. There is no reason to suppose he prefers other mss. but selects the ones from Iowa to curry favor. This sort of elective affinity should be separated from clear cases of conflict of interest.