When I post something late in the afternoon it's almost always a mistake. I feel punch-drunk from the BAP face-off. What did I learn from all this? I hate similes, except when I love them. They are like.... I don't care for obviousness or poems with cute premises. There are far too many prose-poems, too few poets like Ronald Johnson. I like "lean" poems more than "fat" poems.

"Hambone" and "The Hat" are the best avant journals. "The Boston Review," "New American Writing," "Pleiades," and "jubilat" are worthwhile as well. I'm sure "Skanky Possum" is as great as everybody says it is, but the poems Creeley chose from there were not at the top of my list. "Chicago Review" is good but I can live without "Ploughshares," "Poetry," and "APR." Why is there nothing from "Columbia Poetry Review"? No Barbara Guest or Kenward Elmslie (and so on....)