tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027683.post115876707222255373..comments2023-11-03T06:10:12.483-04:00Comments on heuriskein / ευρισκειν: small-press poetry statstmorangehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13540323590390887131noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027683.post-1158902874544269612006-09-22T01:27:00.000-04:002006-09-22T01:27:00.000-04:00"What he said." (pointing to Tom Orange.)oh, so m..."What he said." (pointing to Tom Orange.)<BR/>oh, so many questions. and issues.<BR/>what is an indication of popularity these days, anyhow? and among whom? <BR/>i mean, who's popular amongst the 18-30 folks (a huge marketing demographic of today's capitalist marketplace), who generally confess that they don't even understand poetry today, and who, when asked about their favorite poem or poet, either dredge up something from a previous literature/english class (i.e. robert frost's "road less travelled" [which isn't even the correct title!]) or quote lyrics from a pop song or piece of sentiment culled from a greeting card? who's popular among the 30-55 crowd who reads poetry? who's popular amongst the academics and theorists? who's popular amongst poets who not only write poetry but also read it? and how do we poll the folks who aren't online?<BR/>or should we look at the sales stats at spd and be done with it?<BR/>lisaAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027683.post-1158797763833912072006-09-20T20:16:00.000-04:002006-09-20T20:16:00.000-04:00When I think about these popularity issues (and no...When I think about these popularity issues (and no dig at Lisa R or anyone else intended) I'm always reminded of what Hemingway says about the popularity of his first novel among his 1920s writing friends (Dos Passos and others): "I should have asked myself, since they liked it so much, what must be wrong with it."<BR/><BR/>In other words, popularity "speaks to" people at least as much by confirming the shared prejudices of the moment as it does the shared insights--and it's hard to know the difference between them sometimes.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately, the lack of popularity isn't a sign of virtue either.<BR/><BR/>So I guess we might as well just go back to considering what a book is like as the main source of its value, rather than the question of who is or isn't reading it.mark wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10047292022080114501noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027683.post-1158790829250565792006-09-20T18:20:00.000-04:002006-09-20T18:20:00.000-04:00hey t,.great post!i was really suprized and please...hey t,.<BR/><BR/>great post!<BR/><BR/>i was really suprized and pleased to see Dusie mentioned and listed three times! not too bad considering it has only officially been 'out' since chaps and the one bookbook came out in july! <BR/><BR/>so when will you be starting this kind of stat sort of list / questionairre?DUSIEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06216362537300575353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027683.post-1158780971564544802006-09-20T15:36:00.000-04:002006-09-20T15:36:00.000-04:00glad you think these things and say them.re: "poor...glad you think these things and say them.<BR/><BR/>re: "poor showing of poets trying to be sociologists" -- True... that strikes me as a very rich subject, one about which books could be written -- by sociologists.<BR/><BR/>Now I'm off to John Latta's take...Ryan W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01945769909647155149noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9027683.post-1158779288240676122006-09-20T15:08:00.000-04:002006-09-20T15:08:00.000-04:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Ryan W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01945769909647155149noreply@blogger.com