Dana Gioia

In a 2016 interview, Gioia recalled, "As soon as I began publishing formal poems, my work was attacked."Zheng (2021), ''Conversations with Dana Gioia'', p. 212. In response, he decided, "to articulate my poetics", by publishing literary essays.

In a 2016 interview, Gioia recalled, "As soon as I began publishing formal poems, my work was attacked."Zheng (2021), ''Conversations with Dana Gioia'', p. 212. In response, he decided, "to articulate my poetics", by publishing literary essays.

Gioia wrote the 1983 essay ''Business and Poetry'', in which he pointed out how many other well-known figures in [[American poetry]], including [[Wallace Stevens]], [[T. S. Eliot]], and [[William Carlos Williams]], had also made their livings outside of the academy.Dana Gioia, ''Business and Poetry'', ''[[The Hudson Review]]'', Vol. 36, No. 1, 35th Anniversary Issue (Spring, 1983), pp. 147–171.Gioia (2002), ''Can Poetry Matter?'', pp. 113–139. In his i1987 [[essay]] ''Notes on the New Formalism'', Gioia wrote: "There will always be groups advocating new types of poetry, some of it genuine, just as there will always be conservative opposing forces trying to maintain the conventional methods. But the revival of rhyme and meter among some young poets creates an unprecedented situation in [[American poetry]]. The New Formalists put the free-verse poets in the ironic and unprepared position of being the ''[[status quo]]''. Free verse, the creation of an older literary revolution, is now the long-established, ruling [[orthodoxy]], formal poetry the unexpected challenge... Obviously, for many writers the discussion between formal and free-verse has become an encoded political debate."Dana Gioia (2002), ''Can Poetry Matter? Essays on Poetry and American Culture'', [[Graywolf Press]], [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], pp. 29–30.

Gioia wrote the 1983 essay ''Business and Poetry'', in which he pointed out how many other well-known figures in [[American poetry]], including [[Wallace Stevens]], [[T. S. Eliot]], and [[William Carlos Williams]], had also made their livings outside of the academy.Dana Gioia, ''Business and Poetry'', ''[[The Hudson Review]]'', Vol. 36, No. 1, 35th Anniversary Issue (Spring, 1983), pp. 147–171.Gioia (2002), ''Can Poetry Matter?'', pp. 113–139. In his 1987 [[essay]] ''Notes on the New Formalism'', Gioia wrote: "There will always be groups advocating new types of poetry, some of it genuine, just as there will always be conservative opposing forces trying to maintain the conventional methods. But the revival of rhyme and meter among some young poets creates an unprecedented situation in [[American poetry]]. The New Formalists put the free-verse poets in the ironic and unprepared position of being the ''[[status quo]]''. Free verse, the creation of an older literary revolution, is now the long-established, ruling [[orthodoxy]], formal poetry the unexpected challenge... Obviously, for many writers the discussion between formal and free-verse has become an encoded political debate."Dana Gioia (2002), ''Can Poetry Matter? Essays on Poetry and American Culture'', [[Graywolf Press]], [[Saint Paul, Minnesota]], pp. 29–30.

In a 2016 interview with [[John Cusatis]], however, Gioia explained, "[[Literary movement]]s are always temporary. They last a decade or so, and then they die or merge into the mainstream. The best New Formalist poets gradually became mainstream figures. There was no climax to the so-called Poetry Wars, only slow assimilation and change. Free and formal verse gradually ceased to be considered polar opposites. Form became one of the available styles of contemporary practice."John Zheng (2021), ''Conversations with Dana Gioia'', University Press of Mississippi, p. 213.

In a 2016 interview with [[John Cusatis]], however, Gioia explained, "[[Literary movement]]s are always temporary. They last a decade or so, and then they die or merge into the mainstream. The best New Formalist poets gradually became mainstream figures. There was no climax to the so-called Poetry Wars, only slow assimilation and change. Free and formal verse gradually ceased to be considered polar opposites. Form became one of the available styles of contemporary practice."John Zheng (2021), ''Conversations with Dana Gioia'', University Press of Mississippi, p. 213.