Dear all:
A short while ago Paul Legault, editor of Fence Press, published his
own *Self-Portrait
in a Convex Mirror 2*, a daunting tribute to John Ashbery's 1975
collection. Here is a short excerpt, first from the poem "As You Came from
the Holy Land" and then Legault's 2016 version. Comments welcomed!
Ashbery
*As You Came from the Holy Land*
of western New York state
were the graves all right in their bushings
was there in a note of panic in the late August air
because the old man had peed in his pants again
was there turning away from the late afternoon glare
as though it too could be wished away
was any of this present
and how could this be
the magic solution to what you are in now
Legault
*As You Came from the Holy Land 2*
in parts of New York there’s this state
of being lit as a bush with god or the future
what was driving that old panic into the air again
what’s not classic about being something old
when did the magic lantern evolve into tv
we had been thinking of time in the miniature
as something worth avoiding at all costs
and the accountant stopped his installments
from reaching the interior immediately
in the habit of one born of an impetus
Take care.-tor
