Daniel Nester provides a dispatch from a reading by Lyn Lifshin, who—according to Nester—might be one of the most prolific poets in the universe. Nester Writes:

Since her first poem was published in 1967 in the anti-war mimeo magazine Kauri, work by Lifshin has appeared in more than 300 journals big and small. Now in her late 50s, she is unofficially known as the queen of the small presses. Len Fulton, publisher of Dustbooks’ Directory of Poetry Publishers, takes an informal poll every year in which he asks journal editors to name five representative authors from their pages. He tallies up the names and publishes the results in the directory’s “Popularity Sweepstakes.” Lifshin has won the poll 16 times.

When I heard about Lifshin’s Caffe Lena reading, my curiosity was piqued. I wanted to see if she was for real. She is so prolific; would it be possible for her to take a break from writing her accessible, conversational, mostly short-lined poems? Would she be stuffing envelopes bound for faraway journals at her table? Was she a good reader of her work? Most of all, I think, I wanted some closure after reading so many of her submissions.

Read the rest of Nester's piece at the Poetry Foundation, click here.

Source: Daniel Nester, Poetry Foundation

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