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Why Miss Bishop (and Mr. Cheever) Mattered: A Rumination on Dana Gioia’s “Studying with Miss Bishop” | Los Angeles Review of Books

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In the title of his notable 1991 Atlantic article, Dana Gioia asked the provocative question: “Can Poetry Matter?” That essay opened by positing that poetry in America had become “a subculture. No longer part of the mainstream of artistic and intellectual life, it has become the specialized occupation of a relatively small and isolated group.” But Gioia also noted that despite this general-reader neglect, “What makes the situation of contemporary poets particularly surprising is that it comes at a moment of unprecedented expansion for the art. There have never before been so many new books of poetry published, so many anthologies or literary magazines.” Gioia’s thoughtful inquiry touched on a number of contributing factors, but I remember responding at the time that, yes, we set the bar too low. Historically, there never had been — so how could there suddenly be — so many “noteworthy” poets? Had American poetry undergone a sort of inflation and become a devalued currency? As Gresham’s

Why Miss Bishop (and Mr. Cheever) Mattered: A Rumination on Dana Gioia’s “Studying with Miss Bishop” Art Beck considers Dana Gioia’s portraits of Elizabeth Bishop and John Cheever. By Art Beck November 9, 2021 Did you know LARB is a reader-supported nonprofit? LARB publishes daily without a paywall as part of our mission to make rigorous, incisive, and engaging writing on every aspect of literature, culture, and the arts freely accessible to the public. Help us continue this work with your tax-deductible donation today! Donate I. A Look Back In the title of his notable 1991 Atlantic article, D

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