Welcome friends.

Trout will be a place for the reading, critique, and thinking through of poems. I do not hold poetry to any formal standard. I find some of John McPhee's literary journalism to be exceptionally poetic, actually most of it. I believe that Moby Dick is one long poem. A very, very long poem. That being said I greatly admire the work of "actual" poets ranging from Jane Hirshfield to John Berryman to Ashley Capps. The long and longer of this idea would be that poetry is all art that is talented, thoughtful, and makes the audience look away and honestly feel something.

That is what I will be trying to do with Trout. It may be simple or it may be impossible. If you find one thought here that makes your stomach drop or you become disturbingly happy reading an Ashbery or Bukowski feel free to let me know that I have succeeded.