word of mouth anthology

                                                    
                                                     
 Last night I finished reading Word of Mouth,
an anthology of Gay American poetry edited by          
Timothy Liu.  Centered on the back cover is           
the final paragraph of the editor's preface.    
The first sentence of this paragraph reads:
"After all is said and done, I still question
the notion of a 'gay sensibility'."  Left of  
this are 29 names, and right of this/ 29 more.
Fifty-eight poets.  Many were new to me.  The
anthology appears to be arranged by birth date,
but only the birth year is revealed.  1903 is   
the earliest birth year and 1969 the latest.
The poems deal with many topics.  Perhaps I   
should have known, but the number of poems    
dealing with AIDS--Tim Dlugos's "D.O.A." (being
about his own death) was especially telling.
I had seen on TV the D.O.A. movie his poem
refers to, and as I was saved from the AIDS
sadness by a syphilis scare which moved me 
to stop my slutty ways, this poem and others
deepened my sorrow and thankfulness.               
                                              
Two poems by John Giorno struck me, one which
is what its title is: "Pornographic Poem"; and
one which describes a horrid death and a death
of great peace: "None of Them Wanted to Go".    
                                                    
Several poems by Edward Field were humorous,  
but several poems by Jonathan Williams were   
even more humorous.                            
                                                 
In general I was more impressed by the poems
of poets I didn't know, but that may be due 
to practical restrictions the editor had to face.
                                                 
The following link may take you to a Google         
results page.  If so, choose the poets.org   
result.  The interview is the best place  
to learn about Timothy Liu, and excellant 
poems of his are there.  tliu
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Tim Liu's site
                                          
                                                   
                                                 
                                                 
The full title of this book is:           
Word of Mouth an anthology of gay American poetry
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Copyright © 2000 Talisman House, Publishers               
                                          
                                           
                                                
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