New York Pretending to be Paris
Eric Schorr writes…..My journey began several years ago when I began to read what would turn out to be many hundreds of contemporary poems with an eye (and ear) toward selecting just a few to turn into art songs. I started with the work of poets with whom I was already familiar. But I quickly branched out. I spent days in New York City’s unique Poets House, where I randomly selected volumes from the shelves of its vast collection. Wherever I traveled I sought out poetry bookshops, like the wonderful Grolier in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And of course, publications like The New Yorker, Poetry, The New York Review of Books, and The New Criterion were excellent sources. I happily went down many rabbit holes — a poet friend would recommend favorite poets, who would recommend others, and so on. In the end, I emerged with a satisfying, if very eclectic, collection.