Greatness vs. supersizing

A total networker careerist can be a great or lousy poet. So can a hermit in a cave. Feeble poetic ambition probably starts before careers begin. Beginning poets aren’t, I think, cynical in their stylistic choices. If anything they’re too earnestly docile. Young poets probably shouldn’t aim explicitly for greatness. Life is stressful enough without that kind of pressure. But when the only aim is getting an A+ in reproducing teachers’ revolutions, it’s unlikely to lead anywhere but mediocrity...

poetry mag. debate ~(from the page)