A week ago two lovely owl poems on this blog generated praise and suggestions for the poet.
So when I saw this article about the sensitive role of a poetry editor, I thought you would be interested.
Sameer Rahim, assistant books editor of the Telegraph in the UK, begins his essay by saying that Dante acknowledged Virgil as his literary guide.
“Every poet needs a Virgil. Wordsworth had Coleridge; Tennyson had Arthur Hallam; and Edward Thomas had Robert Frost. However, the best-preserved example of one poet editing another is Ezra Pound’s work on TS Eliot’s ‘The Waste Land.’
“The poem’s manuscript, first published in 1971 and now available on a snazzy iPad app, shows Pound’s boldness. On the first page of the second part, ‘A Game of Chess,’ he wrote disapprovingly: ‘Too tum-pum at a stretch’; further down he complains a line is ‘too penty’ – too regular a pentameter. Eliot redrafted the lines until he got an ‘OK’ in the margin. Eliot acknowledged his friend’s role when he dedicated the 1925 edition to Pound, calling him Il miglior fabbro or ‘the better craftsman’ – a phrase from Dante. …
“One of Eliot’s successors … is Matthew Hollis, a poet-editor and biographer whose account of the literary friendship between Edward Thomas and Robert Frost, Now All Roads Lead to France, [just won the] Costa Prize.
“ ‘There is sometimes a feeling that to edit poetry you have to be a poet,’ he says, going on to cite Pound. ‘If you think you may have broken your leg, you don’t take a straw poll of your friends to find out, you visit a doctor for an expert opinion.’ ”
That expert is probably another poet, but not necessarily.
“Most important is that ‘an editor listens to an author tuning into their poems.’ ” Read more here.
I know Emerson isn’t one of the greats in the poet department, but he was the only one available on short notice.
Suzanne's Mom's Blog 
Thank you. Perhaps I’ve been unconsciously searching for my Ezra Pound. This is a subject I’ve never read about before. Once again, you’ve introduced me to a new and fascinating subject.
Who was the poet — Anthony Towne (?) — that was in the Writers Guild you founded? Was he or was your group ever your Ezra Pound? Were you all Ezra Pounds for one another? One of the poets who commented on your owls is in a very supportive sounding poetry class right now. I never wanted to expose myself that much in my playwriting, but I broke that mental barrier last summer when I took a class.
Thank you for remembering the wonderful, witty, and wise Anthony Towne, a founding member of the Block Island Writers Workshop.
The last line of an encouraging note he wrote to me reads, “I think you should have no trouble getting your poems published if you want to. I have drawers full of rejection slips but eventually most everything I have wanted printed has gotten printed.” (All want-to-be-published writers, take heed.)
When Anthony died in 1980, I wrote:
Anthony
The sunflower will be your symbol,
large and radiant and giving.
We will plant its seeds with your ashes
and read your poems beneath its blooms.
With help from sparrows and island winds,
we will brighten a sorrowing earth
with the laughter and the wisdom
engendered by your kernels of truth.
Anthony was a splendid gardener and grew rows of sunflowers.
For his memorial service, members of the Writers Workshop read pieces he had written for the group. It was the first time I had been to such a service and heard peals of laughter brought about by the words of the deceased. Anthony’s humor lived on.
And thank *you* for sharing that bright memorial poem. It suggests a wonderful spirit. And it is warming for me as I think about a gardening lady I know who died suddenly yesterday.
NWG, I love your commemorative poem for your friend and colleague! I especially love the image of reading poems beneath its blooms–I’m thinking of those mammoth sunflowers that one really can sit beneath.
And I agree with him about the value of persistence!
Do you have a website/blog?
I’m having such fun being a conduit for poet conversations!
Wonderful entry, Suzanne’s Mom! It really makes a lot of difference to have people with whom you can share work whose opinions you value and trust. And it’s great to be in touch with people like that–it’s wonderful for dispelling a sense of isolation. Suddenly you’re in community with other people doing similar things–it’s very energizing and inspiring.
You’re a poet yourself, Suzanne’s Mom! And you’re also a great one for bringing people together.
I’m more like a poetaster, but writing a rhyme or haiku often makes me smile.
(Oh, and I meant to add that I love your comment beside the photo of the sign at Emerson’s house :D)
I do like “By the rude bridge that arched the flood,” and I haven’t read enough of Emerson’s poems to be a critic, but my impression is he’s a bit turgid.
Asakiyume, you’ve said it so well. Thank you, suzannesmom, for providing the creative cyber-place for community.
I fear I don’t have the discipline of either of you. Thus, I remain,
Blogless on Block Island
Discipline takes many forms. 🙂