A review by kylefwill
The Hatred of Poetry by Ben Lerner

4.0

A really good critique of critiques of poetry, but part of its main thesis—where great Poetry only exists in the negative—is that great poets make reference towards the impossibility of great Poetry by acknowledging/making space for the virtual. I find this tendency of bemoaning the impossibility of actual language, most of the time, really fucking annoying. It's incredibly difficult for me to feel any sympathy for something who says "I can't find the words." I would rather they just keep on not finding any words than pulling out the garbage of words explaining their lack of words.