Poetry and Ambition

In Donald Hall's compelling new collection of essays on the state of contemporary poetry, he likens much of what passes for poetry today to the product of an assembly line -- the McPoem.  The McPoem may satisfy the desire for fame, the ambition for publication.  But real ambition for the poet, says Hall, lies in the sometimes painful, always time-consuming perfection of the poem itself.  You may not agree with Hall, but you cannot afford to ignore him.