Glut Reactions: The Demographics of American Poetry

“What happens when everyone is a poet?” asked Marjorie Perloff at the start of her controversial essay, “Poetry on the Brink.” Citing a recent lecture by renowned critic Jed Rasula, Perloff argued that “the sheer number of poets now plying their craft inevitably ensures moderation and safety.” In the following exchange, conducted via email between November 2011 and May 2012, Rasula and Mike Chasar, author ofEveryday Reading: Poetry and Popular Culture in Modern America, take a closer look at the notion—so prevalent in discussions of contemporary poetry—that more Americans are writing poetry today than ever before. How true are the rumors of poetry’s newfound popularity? How might this popularity affect, or reflect, the way poetry is conceived of and consumed by the culture at large?

—The Editors

Read the article over at the Boston Review.