Collected Essays

Essays on poetry, poetry movements, poetic ideas, history, and life, by one of the key poets of both language and NY poetry, over the last few decades. Michael Gottlieb's Socraticallycanted essays, all formally addressed to poets, should keep you up at night, even if you're not a poet. There are no answers here, only inquiries that increase exponentially by the asking. The questions Gottlieb pose range from the embarrassing (what might our responsibilities to other poets be?) to the confounding (what is the role of love in our work?). Each question opens out into more questions that should be considered, even meditated upon. " I' d argue," he ventures, " listening is the beginning." The world has changed so much in the twelve years since the first of these writings were published but, still it seems, listening (wedded to an honest ask) may be the truest activism.