<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><?xml-stylesheet href="http://www.blogger.com/styles/atom.css" type="text/css"?><feed xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom' xmlns:openSearch='http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/' xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005"><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post112334666077700783..comments</id><updated>2011-07-13T16:13:18.645-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Comments on Silliman&#39;s Blog: </title><link rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#feed' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/feeds/comments/default'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html'/><link rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/"/><link rel='next' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default?start-index=26&amp;max-results=25'/><author><name>Unknown</name><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><generator version='7.00' uri='http://www.blogger.com'>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>27</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112373708852538043</id><published>2005-08-11T01:11:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-11T01:11:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Very helpful thoughts, Ron, about the relationship...</title><summary type='text'>Very helpful thoughts, Ron, about the relationship of contests and communities.  They&#39;re particularly relevant to, say, contemporary Asian American poetry, which is sometimes seen to have been inaugurated by a contest victory: Cathy Song&#39;s winning of the Yale Younger Poets prize in 1982.  I&#39;ve posted some further comments on that &lt;A HREF=&quot;http://tympan.blogspot.com/2005/08/</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112373708852538043'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112373708852538043'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123737060000#c112373708852538043' title=''/><author><name>Tim</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/10730690023556714690</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1539190931"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 11, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112371531049613498</id><published>2005-08-10T19:08:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-10T19:08:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>No faction or claque is behind a contest winner. I...</title><summary type='text'>No faction or claque is behind a contest winner. In fact everyone who entered the contest generally despises the contest winner along the lines of the witch and the case of the mirror, mirror.&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;So perhaps it is true here that a claque that gets behind a book and an individual could produce a book that has better staying power.  &lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;No community backs a contest winner.  &lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;I </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112371531049613498'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112371531049613498'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123715280000#c112371531049613498' title=''/><author><name>Kirby Olson</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/05952289700191142943</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1262696662"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 10, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112370130393868030</id><published>2005-08-10T15:15:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-10T15:15:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>One standard that might serve as an indicator of p...</title><summary type='text'>One standard that might serve as an indicator of poetry that either appears or disappears is prevalence in libraries.  Libraries tend to hold on to works longer than individuals.  If you look through the lists of various contest winners and then check in WorldCat how many copies belong in libraries you could get a sense of the dissemination of the texts.  &lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;My sense is that factions pick </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112370130393868030'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112370130393868030'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123701300000#c112370130393868030' title=''/><author><name>Kirby Olson</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/05952289700191142943</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1262696662"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 10, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112370002617741036</id><published>2005-08-10T14:53:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-10T14:53:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>one of Canada&#39;s most important poet Steve McCaffer...</title><summary type='text'>one of Canada&#39;s most important poet Steve McCaffery has never won a major award in this country, as far as i know. i tend to remember what Frank O&#39;Hara said, that we don&#39;t have to worry about bad poetry cos it will go away on its own. ditto for contest poetry.</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112370002617741036'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112370002617741036'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123699980000#c112370002617741036' title=''/><author><name>donatoma</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/14017357180966465320</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-826782057"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 10, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112367743444840072</id><published>2005-08-10T08:37:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-10T08:37:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Hello.  I was trying to post the following comment...</title><summary type='text'>Hello.  I was trying to post the following comment to your blog entry on&lt;BR/&gt;Tuesday about contests &amp; communities, but encountered &quot;technical&lt;BR/&gt;difficulty.&quot;  So perhaps I could impose upon you to see this to the comments&lt;BR/&gt;box.&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;Many thanks,&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;Mark&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;******&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;Hello.  Just some quick notes here.  I haven&#39;t read, &amp; don&#39;t have time to&lt;BR/&gt;read right now, all the </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112367743444840072'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112367743444840072'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123677420000#c112367743444840072' title=''/><author><name>Ron</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/09250950725876683923</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-660918411"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 10, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112364717773644801</id><published>2005-08-10T00:12:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-10T00:12:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Ron’s comments are in the context of deciding what...</title><summary type='text'>Ron’s comments are in the context of deciding what to read, for which the human mind develops loose criteria.  Anyone is free to read contest poetry.   If you want to, go to it.  If you don’t think poetry should be experimental, you have a right to that opinion, and you can buy the books of poets who may act surprised that you do if you have no selfish reason to.&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;When an innovator gets </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112364717773644801'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112364717773644801'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123647120000#c112364717773644801' title=''/><author><name>Ian Keenan</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/16596558654735506132</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1591342472"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 10, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112363982015959637</id><published>2005-08-09T22:10:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T22:10:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>The essential relationship is still between what a...</title><summary type='text'>The essential relationship is still between what an individual poet SEES in the work he knows, has experienced, thought about--and what he then does (WRITES) alone.  That is how the writing is accomplished.  &lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;The non-essential relationship is between that &quot;finished&quot; artifact and its &quot;audience&quot;--however one may define it.  Audiences can &quot;edit&quot; work, indirectly, but they cannot write the </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363982015959637'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363982015959637'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123639800000#c112363982015959637' title=''/><author><name>Curtis Faville</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/01813159652010352331</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1749964855"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112363957746027175</id><published>2005-08-09T22:06:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T22:06:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Not really being competitive &amp; anyway not being a ...</title><summary type='text'>Not really being competitive &amp; anyway not being a fan of these contests (the important reasons have been amply given both in Rons post and in the comments) I will do without them.&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;Concerning community &amp; publishing: Sitting in sweden (for the time being), writing in English &amp; recently being published, so far, in the U.S. I am rather far off from any, on this issue, relevant physical </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363957746027175'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363957746027175'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123639560000#c112363957746027175' title=''/><author><name>Lars Palm</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/18014279624033048950</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1490930370"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112363880499003169</id><published>2005-08-09T21:53:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T21:53:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Thank you, Lon, for your amusing post on Fez hats....</title><summary type='text'>Thank you, Lon, for your amusing post on Fez hats.  I was rolling in the aisles.</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363880499003169'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363880499003169'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123638780000#c112363880499003169' title=''/><author><name>Curtis Faville</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/01813159652010352331</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1749964855"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112363375164631967</id><published>2005-08-09T20:29:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T20:29:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Ron--Just a few words here to second Norman&#39;s anal...</title><summary type='text'>Ron--Just a few words here to second Norman&#39;s analysis (and as a bonus, to shift from the much-vilified perspective of deconstruction to the trendy--but, sadly, also French--sociology of Pierre Bourdieu!)  &lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;Seriously:  you apply a sociological analysis to the institution but fail to apply one to the community, implying that everyone who fails to achieve publicity in the latter area is at</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363375164631967'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363375164631967'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123633740000#c112363375164631967' title=''/><author><name>Nick</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/03366644632952596438</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-29767501"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112363080466851008</id><published>2005-08-09T19:40:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T19:40:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Ron, at the risk of sounding like a crusty old dec...</title><summary type='text'>Ron, at the risk of sounding like a crusty old deconstructionist, I can&#39;t help thinking that you&#39;re setting up a risky binary opposition between administrative and communal social contexts for poetry, vilifying the former while idealizing the latter.  Literary communities are certainly real, but I sense a false organicism in your sense of them.  Besides, as some communities grow and develop-</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363080466851008'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112363080466851008'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123630800000#c112363080466851008' title=''/><author><name>Norman Finkelstein</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/03673105579717018812</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-282372784"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112362849837770741</id><published>2005-08-09T19:01:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T19:01:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>who searches a healthy immunityfrom fevers of boug...</title><summary type='text'>who searches a healthy immunity&lt;BR/&gt;from fevers of bought-out community?&lt;BR/&gt;a skosh of canucks&lt;BR/&gt;breathing fire for bucks&lt;BR/&gt;looks alright next to blogging&#39;s impunity...</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112362849837770741'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112362849837770741'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123628460000#c112362849837770741' title=''/><author><name>Carton Tragedy</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/06542989177956491967</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1629265714"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112362557929365071</id><published>2005-08-09T18:12:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T18:12:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>I have been very influenced by Objectivist poets a...</title><summary type='text'>I have been very influenced by Objectivist poets as well as John Ashbery. I would to sharre my work with others. cpengage@yahoo.com if you would be willing to look at some of my work&lt;BR/&gt;thanks</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112362557929365071'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112362557929365071'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123625520000#c112362557929365071' title=''/><author><name>Craig</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/16006566205057636527</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-421455267"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112362530943604762</id><published>2005-08-09T18:08:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T18:08:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>For me, the trick has been striking the right bala...</title><summary type='text'>For me, the trick has been striking the right balance between solitude and community. I&#39;ve done both extremes. The isolation bit was necessary at a certain stage of my life and helped me immensely with getting in touch with my own perspectives, along with giving me long uninterrupted sessions of pure writing, but then the isolated solipsism of the whole thing caused a bit of a psyche collapse, </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112362530943604762'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112362530943604762'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123625280000#c112362530943604762' title=''/><author><name>pam</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/10580503652531756432</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-424548952"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112361987313808790</id><published>2005-08-09T16:37:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T16:37:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>In poetry it is, in fact, about who you know.  Yes...</title><summary type='text'>In poetry it is, in fact, about who you know.  Yes, there must be exceptions and they happen just because someone sees your stuff and likes it and you are connected.  Since there is no commercial motive for publishing poetry one is dependent on the communities Ron chats about OR the whims of a few judges for poetry contests and why go into the mix of motives in both situations except to say that </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112361987313808790'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112361987313808790'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123619820000#c112361987313808790' title=''/><author><name>Lon Silliman</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/05557544995428892686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1747027750"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112361975080975524</id><published>2005-08-09T16:35:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T16:35:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>&quot;Indeed, to win a contest generally is to announce...</title><summary type='text'>&quot;Indeed, to win a contest generally is to announce that one as a poet does not come from any community, that one is floundering around in search of one.&quot;&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;Ron, interesting assumption here: that all communities are communities of the living. For any poet worth her salt, the most important community will be the community of poets, and unfortunately the best of these are dead. They live in </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112361975080975524'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112361975080975524'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123619700000#c112361975080975524' title=''/><author><name>Rachel Loden</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/08516155646071927344</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-270441361"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112361606609267668</id><published>2005-08-09T15:34:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T15:34:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Curtis-- For me, poetry needs to be as much a soci...</title><summary type='text'>Curtis-- For me, poetry needs to be as much a social act as it is a private one.  Community as I talked about it is NOT &quot;schmoozing&quot; and &quot;ladder-climbing&quot;, but rather an important source of vitality, a commerce of ideas among creative minds connecting in the wilderness.&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;I&#39;ll be a better writer if I pursue what is right for me, and you&#39;ll be a better writer if you do what&#39;s right for you.</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112361606609267668'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112361606609267668'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123616040000#c112361606609267668' title=''/><author><name>Scott Glassman</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/09765668936962074730</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1630916886"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112360494455240253</id><published>2005-08-09T12:29:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T12:29:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Interesting thing about communities and contests. ...</title><summary type='text'>Interesting thing about communities and contests.  In my first &quot;career&quot; as a poet (late 1980s-mid 1990s) I was involved in a thriving local community here in So Cal, made lots of work and published in lots of little mags, but struck out on getting a non-self-published book published, either by contest or regular submission.  &lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;Now, in my second &quot;career,&quot; I&#39;m outside of the various local </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112360494455240253'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112360494455240253'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123604940000#c112360494455240253' title=''/><author><name>Glenn Bach</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/00623252725909826749</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-605189307"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112360379683156283</id><published>2005-08-09T12:09:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T12:09:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>“But communities are based on actual relationships...</title><summary type='text'>“But communities are based on actual relationships. In place of this, the contest realm substitutes administrative form.”&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;No, this is an idealization.  Going from the gatekeepers who administer prizes to the gatekeepers that administer access to an audience isolated of course from others (Do the New Brutalists (ha!) read the Old Gentlefellows?) is just trading one sort of isolation for </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112360379683156283'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112360379683156283'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123603740000#c112360379683156283' title=''/><author><name>Lon Silliman</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/05557544995428892686</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1747027750"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112359934321037207</id><published>2005-08-09T10:55:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T10:55:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>&quot;Indeed, to win a contest generally is to announce...</title><summary type='text'>&quot;Indeed, to win a contest generally is to announce that one as a poet does not come from any community, that one is floundering around in search of one.&quot;&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;I know this is a major theme of yours, Ron. But I can&#39;t help but feel that it shuts out the possibility that there are poets who do not spring up out of organically bonded communities -- who are, you know, loners. That doesn&#39;t mean that</summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359934321037207'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359934321037207'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123599300000#c112359934321037207' title=''/><author><name>Tom Thompson</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/18283824097902123023</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-547003531"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112359908444219389</id><published>2005-08-09T10:51:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T10:51:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>I agree with Andrea, though I&#39;m still on the acade...</title><summary type='text'>I agree with Andrea, though I&#39;m still on the academic ratrace side of the divide, for now anyway.  I try to enter as many contests as possible, hoping eventually, someone will &quot;adopt&quot; me into their community by publishing my book.  There really are so few first books published outside of the contest circut these days.  I wish it wasn&#39;t so. . .&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;On the other hand, I know exactly what Ron </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359908444219389'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359908444219389'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123599060000#c112359908444219389' title=''/><author><name>poetzie</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/16815211343188065711</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1464993606"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112359884431437810</id><published>2005-08-09T10:47:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T10:47:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Scott:I&#39;m the last person with any &quot;cred&quot; but for ...</title><summary type='text'>Scott:&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;I&#39;m the last person with any &quot;cred&quot; but for my money you don&#39;t need a &quot;scene&quot; or a &quot;book&quot; to substantiate your work.  Anyone who tells you differently...well, they have their agendas.  My favorite poets of the 20th Century were mostly loners, if not in fact, then aesthetically, tinkering away in the wilderness.  Think of Wallace Stevens.  Carlos Williams.  Zukofsky.  Ronald </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359884431437810'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359884431437810'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123598820000#c112359884431437810' title=''/><author><name>Curtis Faville</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/01813159652010352331</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1749964855"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112359836854924244</id><published>2005-08-09T10:39:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T10:39:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>The contest system is designed to provide a means ...</title><summary type='text'>The contest system is designed to provide a means by which, One) Taste can be used to control the structure of literary hierarchies, in their various forms; and Two) Professional discrimination can be made public, enabling literary careers, jobs, and reputations.  It is demonstrably NOT about disseminating good writing, or husbanding in avant-garde technique, or furthering &quot;communities&quot; (Ron&#39;s </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359836854924244'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359836854924244'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123598340000#c112359836854924244' title=''/><author><name>Curtis Faville</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/01813159652010352331</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1749964855"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112359798407208029</id><published>2005-08-09T10:33:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T10:33:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>I&#39;m not sure I would seriously pursue the contest ...</title><summary type='text'>I&#39;m not sure I would seriously pursue the contest route for my first collection, since it feels like such a costly crap shoot.&lt;BR/&gt;&lt;BR/&gt;But it raises the interesting question of how one becomes part of a lively, serious poetic community when you don&#39;t have a book, and when not geographically central to a scene.  It&#39;s a Catch-22 since community is important for a developing poet like myself to </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359798407208029'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359798407208029'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123597980000#c112359798407208029' title=''/><author><name>Scott Glassman</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/09765668936962074730</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-1630916886"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry><entry><id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112359350507663906</id><published>2005-08-09T09:18:00.000-04:00</published><updated>2005-08-09T09:18:00.000-04:00</updated><title type='text'>Ron--I wanted to reply to your blog but I&#39;m a bit ...</title><summary type='text'>Ron--I wanted to reply to your blog but I&#39;m a bit of a babe in the woods--I can&#39;t see a link to do it. So can you post this comment? Thanks, Andrea&lt;BR/&gt;---------------------------&lt;BR/&gt;I agree with you that contests are the bane of poetry&#39;s existence these days/years. And I especially like that your idea that contest entrants are poets looking for community. But, on the other hand, we&#39;re in kind </summary><link rel='edit' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359350507663906'/><link rel='self' type='application/atom+xml' href='https://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/112334666077700783/comments/default/112359350507663906'/><link rel='alternate' type='text/html' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html?showComment=1123593480000#c112359350507663906' title=''/><author><name>Ron</name><uri>https://www.blogger.com/profile/09250950725876683923</uri><email>noreply@blogger.com</email><gd:image rel='http://schemas.google.com/g/2005#thumbnail' width='16' height='16' src='https://img1.blogblog.com/img/b16-rounded.gif'/></author><thr:in-reply-to xmlns:thr='http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0' href='https://ronsilliman.blogspot.com/2005/08/more-than-few-folks-have-written-to.html' ref='tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3738579.post-112334666077700783' source='http://www.blogger.com/feeds/3738579/posts/default/112334666077700783' type='text/html'/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.itemClass" value="pid-660918411"/><gd:extendedProperty name="blogger.displayTime" value="August 09, 2005"/></entry></feed>