Recently, I sent the following letter via e-mail to David Ulin, editor of the Sunday Book Review section of the LOS ANGELES TIMES. Since Mr. Ulin didn't respond, I'm printing it here due to its relevance.
Dear Mr. Ulin,
Recently, you (panning the latest Bukowski anthology in the L.A. TIMES) said something interesting about the literary scene when you came along in the early 90s. To paraphrase, you said the rivalries are more vicious when the stakes are low. I'm guessing you meant that a scene running mostly on campaigning for prestige tends to eat its own when there's not a plethora of publishing opportunites and other means for exposure.
If you could, please take time to elaborate on what you said in the review and don't hesitate to correct any misinterpretations I may have. I'm a lower-rung poet in L.A. (with one "published" poem in a years-ago Tebot Bach anthology) and it seems like the more time passes, the more things stay the same (certainly, the local poetry scene's pendulum is tilted more to formality in verse and interrelationships than acceptance of eccentricity and egalitarianism--as it might have been when you first moved here).
Sincerely,
Terry McCarty
Terry McCarty
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