Poetry (the Journal)

Today I read a volume of Poetry

the journal, I mean, not poetry in general

which it resembles as a general resembles a journalist--

(sort of)

anyway this volume was given to me by a friend

for helping judge a student poetry slam qualifying round, and apparently

it's important to me, the poet

somehow

that you the reader know I did not actually buy this journal. About halfway through

I realized that I was at the end of poetry in Poetry

(again note the use of the general and the journalist)

there followed only: editorial commentary, contributor notes, ads ads ads

unless you count as found poetry

some text from the ads such as:

"Co-sponsored radical spirit journeys half past hope, debating the issues,"

"Kurdish French bedrock narratives tremble and reel"

Alas these ad pages are not numbered so I cannot say for sure

whether poetry (the general) in fact constituted less than half of Poetry (the journal)

but I can tell you exactly that the poetry in Poetry ended on page 48

and was both surrounded and interlarded with lots of white space

very like this irritated rant that you are now reading

which is exactly the kind of poetry I hate and which there is a great deal of on the first 48 pages of Poetry

(the journal)

and so I am getting it out of my system. Thank you for listening.

Available! High-Voltage Lines, Knocking from Inside