A commenter named "Joseph" whose comments will never appear on this blog took umbrage to my remarks about Corman. Poetry belongs to its readers, and I have been a serious and intense reader of American poetry for about 35 years. Make a case for why I should grab a stranger in the street by the lapels and tell him to read Corman. That's all that matters. Did he do it or not. (If writing the blog is metaphorically grabbing strangers by the lapels and telling them to read something.) Or, less dramatically, my graduate students in the Spanish department: I could imagine that I could make the case that they had to listen to Johnny Hodges or Coleman Hawkins in order to understand certain nuances of phrasing and expression. That's part of what every educated person should know. Corman is not.

(That Corman is valued within the narrow community of a certain sector of American poetry for Origin and multiple other contributions is something I would never deny. I think he's given his due within those circles, and nothing I would say on this blog will affect that.)

"Joseph" also points to the fact that I am an academic and have an office. Being an academic means simply that I am a TEACHER and a SCHOLAR. Those are two things I'm very proud of being. It's also helpful to have an office, because that's where I keep hundreds of books of poetry. So no, I won't publish your comments. You are banned for life. The proper tone to take in the comments, by the way, is one of respectful admiration toward the author of this blog, because I AM SMARTER THAN YOU ARE.