I did it! I actually read (and what is more, understood!) the article headed "A poet who rhymes", and I even happen to be in the process of reading Gioia's article "Can Poetry Matter?". (I tell you this only partly because I feel you might be interested--the primary purpose is to record for myself the small milestones on my rocky path to political savvy. I will become erudite! I deny failure!). The practical result of this reading is that I feel even more inclined to cheer for Dana Gioia--though never having read any of his poetry myself, I stepped right in line behind him the moment I read that he rejects today's mode of--I'm sorry to say it--inferior poetry. I'm not going to argue, of course, that my preference for Gioia isn't influenced by the fact that his opinions concur with mine. (Isn't that, after all, the true test of whether or not someone is qualified? This, at least, is something I do know about the practical aspect of politics--it isn't really the competence of a candidate that matters, only the number of people he can get to agree with him.)

However, my personal opinions aside, Gioia is quite convincing. His take on the whole subject is very interesting, if not illuminating. He maintains that poetry is rapidly becoming a subculture that is adverse to the interests of the general public. Most poets no longer write for a public, he says; they write for their peers--a trend that, in 1991 when his article came out, was already well-entrenched. He blames the change partly on a withdrawal from the once-traditional bohemian mindset characterized by a distrust of institutions. As poets found positions in universities and other academic organizations, they found that a closer relationship with institutions was more profitable than playing a lone hand. And when poets started writing exclusively for other poets, they lost the need to relate to a general public--thus begining a process that has gradually led to the cliquishness so widespread today.

Dana Gioia's article has sparked many debates, and no wonder. His grasp of the situation is impressive, and I, for one, come away with an increased respect for those poets who, like Mr. Gioia, have resisted the pull to conform "literary standards [to] institutional ones". This culture needs to be inundated with people who are willing to take a stand against mediocrity, and perhaps Mr. Gioia is just the person to lead that movement. While Mr. Gioia's article primarily explains why the poetic community has become a subculture, he doesn't stop with diagnosing the problem. He would like to see the poets of today make an effort to raise the bar--and who knows? Perhaps this next year will find the poetic community working its way back into a meaningful place in our mainstream culture.