Alice Notley, "State of the Union"

This prose-piece is part of a much longer work, but is also relatively self-contained. I understand that poetry doesn't have to always aspire to the gem-like lyric, or eternal relevance. Alice is going in the other direction; her recent work is prolix and diffuse. Yet her language still has some of the compression needed for poetry. And great insight: "why is the president so popular? because he is vicious." I have to say that I liked Notley better a few years ago than I do now, when I find her work more uneven than I would like it to be. 8.5.