small observation...

being the total art-snob that i am, i've been intrigued by a certain strange phenomenon for the past year or so... poets (majority? maybe?) like bad art. weird, huh? of course i'm basing this almost completely on the art they choose to put on the cover of their publications (magazines, chapbooks, full-length manuscripts) and i'm only talking about living poets. most of the poetry publications i read are from small, independent presses where the poet would definitely have a say in what goes on the cover of their work... and i'm amazed by what gets chosen. i know i sound like a puffed up, pompous, art freak but it's actually so strange to me that i had to comment on it. i mean, poetry is art. do poet's only study their particular art form and not anyone else's? i mean, at the end of the day, a person likes what they like and that's sort of all there is to the story. art is preference. but what i liked when i was 15 definitely wasn't what i was in to when i was 25. and especially not after actually sitting my ass down at a school desk and learning art's history and the problems art contends with today. all this to say, our tastes evolve... we become more discerning, more concerned with quality and abstract notions like integrity, honesty, humility. the stuff that gets chosen to sit on the cover of poetry books is the first thing i see as a reader. that image is meant to convey something about the contents of the book itself. but if i trusted that, there's a lot of really great writing i would've missed out on. most of the art that gets picked is safe, not memorable... basically, the kind of art one would see hanging over the bed in a motel 6. that can't possibly be the parallel a poet would what to draw to their own work! so the art-snob sticks her head out and makes a plea... get good work for your covers!!!! if you are writing contemporary poetry, pair it with some contemporary art. and 'contemporary' means much, much more than just being alive right now.

and now i'll put the art-snob back in her box.