Archie Ammons was not your typical poet. He spent years as a chemical-glass salesman before he got a teaching job. He was a down to earth Southerner.
I was at a literary festival many years ago where he was the other poet. I did my best to avoid him because I felt we had litttle in common. But one morning I went into a tiny dive for breakfast. There he was sitting in a booth alone. He waved to me so I joined him.
We had a great conversation. He was warm and friendly—not the impression I had from his often austere and impersonal poetry. We talked about the stock market for an hour.
Great story. I’ve been a fan since Tape for the Turn of the Year in 1993. It had just been reassured by Norton (for any book nerds). — Why didn’t you discuss poetry?
I think we need to cut him some slack regarding travel. Anyone who spent time in WWII shouldn’t be expected to do any more traveling. My father would never get on a plane again
If folks are interested in arts patronage and its troubles, I wrote a piece a few months ago discussing the modern-day selection process through which writers and other artists are selected for grants and prizes through selection committees—groups of people who must together make a selection and hence must speak (or email or write, but always communicate through words) to each other. In the piece, I ask what we lose when aesthetic judgment must be explained, when artists are selected by way of conversation. Would love to hear peoples' thoughts on this! https://lifeasfound.substack.com/p/before-words
Archie Ammons was not your typical poet. He spent years as a chemical-glass salesman before he got a teaching job. He was a down to earth Southerner.
I was at a literary festival many years ago where he was the other poet. I did my best to avoid him because I felt we had litttle in common. But one morning I went into a tiny dive for breakfast. There he was sitting in a booth alone. He waved to me so I joined him.
We had a great conversation. He was warm and friendly—not the impression I had from his often austere and impersonal poetry. We talked about the stock market for an hour.
This is excellent. Was Ammons an investor? I have been enjoying his poetry again recently.
Don’t know what he put stock in, but in his best stuff (and in his shorter short poems), he sure is economical.
Great story. I’ve been a fan since Tape for the Turn of the Year in 1993. It had just been reassured by Norton (for any book nerds). — Why didn’t you discuss poetry?
I think we need to cut him some slack regarding travel. Anyone who spent time in WWII shouldn’t be expected to do any more traveling. My father would never get on a plane again
after the war. He had good reason.
If folks are interested in arts patronage and its troubles, I wrote a piece a few months ago discussing the modern-day selection process through which writers and other artists are selected for grants and prizes through selection committees—groups of people who must together make a selection and hence must speak (or email or write, but always communicate through words) to each other. In the piece, I ask what we lose when aesthetic judgment must be explained, when artists are selected by way of conversation. Would love to hear peoples' thoughts on this! https://lifeasfound.substack.com/p/before-words
What a funny interview! To get down to basics: He lost 20 pounds while visiting Italy?? Mercy! Such a hoot!
It’s all been downhill since Socrates!
As it happens there is a good case that Socrates is *the* defining figure of Western civilisation, so a logical place to draw a line, so to speak.