@rnv The Triggering Town was actually very important to me early on, though I barely remember it now. And I remember liking Hugo’s work as well. Whether I would have the same response now or not, I don’t know. I just loved Carruth’s piece for its blunt honesty and week-honed precision.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Whitman, just based on the work. I never knew enough about him biographically. Some was clearly self-important pomposity, but some I thought absolutely gorgeous.