Tom Beckett on his blog mentions his minimalist preference. true enough in his writing, which is spare, with short careful lines. Niedecker, Corman, Grenier come to mind as minimalists of differing sorts. Tom describes the attention he gives each word. I guess I write by the sentence, or at least the line or phrase: clumps. I think of Beckett as writing slowly, carefully. I do not do that, not like that. I charge forward quickly, hoping not to get in he way. I have trained myself to accept the oddities that arise. this aim differs little from what Tom seeks, but I utilize a different method of reaching that place than does Tom. I almost align with the Beats. almost. or with Whitman. I learned a useful sense of disruption and indirection from the Language Poeticists. ways of subverting the ego noise. that's where the almost comes in, the attempt to sneal by the guardians. the new New Yuk poets, streaming O'Hara, and Koch, play too heavily on the persona, id est Frank O's persona. their language is conscious commodity, (too) thoughtfully well-spent. Tom Beckett doesn't invest with that samenessness of the performing 'I'. he backs off from that. Jordan Davis, for instance, tends toward glib. have you ever sensed that? he could usefully rethink his millions. I say this aware of my own warts, also in relation to Tom Beckett. Jordan still holds onto the reins. Tom Beckett has grown into a loving trust. screw me for saying this.