Edward Foster wears many hats. He's the editor of Talisman, one of the leading U.S. poetry magazines. His critical works include
studies of William Saroyan, the Beats, Jack Spicer, and a memoir of his friendship with the poet Ted Berrigan. He's the publisher of Talisman House Books and has edited or co-edited the anthologies Postmodern Poetry: The Talisman Interviews and Primary
Trouble. He is a controversialist whose essay "Poetry Has Nothing To Do With Politics" startled many with its insistence that poetry "precedes intention, choice, and dialogue." His own poetry--romantic, grand, picaresque--marvelously moves between personal and world history with painful honesty and hard-won ease.
March 14, 1997
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