Letter from Poetry Magazine
Originally Published: December 30, 2008Robert Archambeau Responds
Robert Archambeau responds:
While I am not now, and have never been, a member of the Communist Party, I did quote Marx on the matter of consciousness being determined by social conditions. Then again, I also quoted Adam Smith—approvingly! So the tired nature of my analysis must have its origins in something other than Marxism. But the real issue for me here is what I take to be a misunderstanding of what I hoped to show in citing Matthias's poem. Although the particular political issue it presents is indeed a trivial one—a dispute with local government authorities about a ticket—the issues it illustrates are profound: the conflict between civic and symbolic power. If I've misled any readers into disliking a wonderful poem by an important poet, I regret it.
While I am not now, and have never been, a member of the Communist Party, I did quote Marx on the matter of consciousness being determined by social conditions. Then again, I also quoted Adam Smith—approvingly! So the tired nature of my analysis must have its origins in something other than Marxism. But the real issue for me here is what I take to be a misunderstanding of what I hoped to show in citing Matthias's poem. Although the particular political issue it presents is indeed a trivial one—a dispute with local government authorities about a ticket—the issues it illustrates are profound: the conflict between civic and symbolic power. If I've misled any readers into disliking a wonderful poem by an important poet, I regret it.
Poet and literary critic Robert Archambeau grew up in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He earned a BA from the University of Manitoba and a PhD from Notre Dame. He is the author of the poetry collections Home and Variations (2004) and Laureates and Heretics (2010), and the essay collection The Poet Resigns: Poetry in a Difficult World (2013). Archambeau has also edited several books, including Letters of Blood…