So What is Unique About Innovative Poetry in Chicago?

So What is Unique About Innovative Poetry in Chicago?

recently we have had some interesting posts here on this subject and I think that I would like to opine on this subject hoping for dialogue from poetic friends;

Experimental Poetry in the US has been for a long time made up of elitists trying to look common while remaining elitists. This is true for example of the Language Poets who were elitists but who through humor tried to remain close to regular folks. this normally did not work. I have been reading recently Saence a book of essays and Chaz Bernstein has a group of his gimmick poems inside the ones where he says something slogany next to something dire, you know " Fighting in Iraq-Take a Warm Bath".

So now that we have arrived in Chicago as a poetic center what is innovative about our poetic situation? Here are some things that I find interesting and would love to get comments;

Unique Chicago Things

1) lack of true elitism

While we have our poetic elitists especially those affiliated with the U of C even the most elite poets here are still accessable and because most of our magazines and small presses are new enterprises there is a pronounced lack of elitism here I noticed this at AWP poets as different as Simone Muench, Me and Arielle Greenberg were all accessable and their work is not filled with that sense of dramatic art that we find in so much New York writing.

2) Lack of taking things too seriously (Unless a New Yorker is in Town)

When it is just us most Chicago poets are interested and respectful and they are ready to not take anyone's work too seriously...

3) Fusion of many styles and schools

In Chicago we have a great fusion of poetic schools and styles just look at this list and what I think are their influences and ask if this would be possible anywhere else?

Kerri Sonnenberg-Stein, Waltrops, Hoover
Mark Tardi-Visual Art, Slavic Writing, Music, Math
John Tipton- Greek, Eliot, Working Class Work
Peter O'Leary-Byzantine Poetry, Duncan, Catholicism
Arielle Greenberg-Judaism, Motherhood, Kafka, Sound
Chris Glomski-Italian, Lit Crit, Lyric
Garin Cycoll-Geography, Olson, Middle Border

I could continue and list off twenty high quality poets here in Chicago who are all bringing different influences to bear on poetry here and cross pollinating.

4) here is the crux of the matter, Cross Pollination

In chicago because our community is smaller and we are not all pricks to one another as they can be in New York and SF we are able to cross pollinate each other and the fusion has created something new....