Sean O'Brien

just hit an unprecedented double while at bat for poetry in the UK.

Yeah, I know, that was my first response, too - Sean who? It frightens me that I am as plugged-in to the world of poetry (or, if not quite a world, then at least a terrarium) as I am and yet I hadn't really heard of O'Brien before now. You can complain all you want about the fact that no one reads poetry any more, but like it or not, a lot of the reason no one reads it is that it's completely off the radar in terms of having any sort of a media presence. I mean, for God's sake, ALL FIVE of the NBCC finalists in the poetry category were published by small or independent presses! That's awesome in some senses, and depressing in others.

Back to O'Brien, though. I really liked some of the things he was quoted as saying in this article in the Times Online - especially this:

"Writing poetry is often frustrating, while not writing it can be intolerable. Poetry is a vocation – it possesses you."

So very true. Do you think any of us would write poetry if we had a choice? It's probably the least practical thing you could do. I will MAYBE grant it a tie with "philosopher," but I think it's got to be in either the number 1 or number 2 slot of "least effective things to do with your time."

Anyway, having said that, I think I'm going to go read some Sean O'Brien. Judging from what was said in the Times Online article and from the poem posted there ("Blue night"), he seems sort of Emily Dickinson-esque to me. (Short lines, strong rhymes, a sort of odd wit, and what appears to be a penchant for capitalization). I'll read more & get back on whether that theory holds up or not.