RSGwynn: "There is an entry on VN in The
Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century Poetry, ed. Ian Hamilton, 1994. The
entry was written by [D]ana [G]ioia."
JM: A Nabokovian
don once wrote to me that "without Google he'd have a hard time
finding his pants in the morning." In my case, I'd be
merely panting away, prone to the same mistakes I've just
made: I'd meant to bring up "The Oxford Book of Humorous
Prose," and "The Oxford Book of Contemporary Verse 1945-1980
(chosen by D.J.Enright) which I had by my side instead of the "Companion"
series!
RSGwynn:
"Shade isn't rustic, not even rural, just born and bred suburban and
academic. A college town in "Appalachia" doesn't differ much from one in upstate
New York or one in Georgia or one, I suspect, in northern New
Mexico..."
JM: I suppose that
"rustic poets" belong to a define group, something like "Country
Music"? When I considered Shade a "provincial poet" I hope I made
it clear that I was merely describing his perspective towards the
world and society. A lifelong dedication to Pope and academic articles
doesn't change anything concerning his particular outlook. In this respect Shade
is completely different from Nabokov - who
affirmed that there was a lot in common bt. him and his fictional
poet, and from Frost as well. I fear I'd attribute a parodic intention
only to VN, not to Shade.