Critchley on poetry
Ready Steady Book continues apace with its series of stimulating interviews. In the latest, English philosopher Simon Critchley discusses his recent book on Wallace Stevens.
Poetry is difficult, I mean interesting poetry, not confessional babble or emotive propaganda. Reading a new poet is discovering an entire world, what Stevens called a ?mundo?, and it takes a lot of time to orientate oneself in such a world. What we have to learn to do then, as teachers and militants of a poetic insurgency, is to encourage people to learn to love the difficulty of poetry.
RSB's blog also has news of an exhibition in Reading to mark Samuel Beckett's centenary; possibly the only good reason ever to go to that place. I'm particularly interested in John Banville's 'celebrity talk'.
