Probably Even Pigeons Don’t Like Pigeonholes
Probably even pigeons don't like pigeonholes. Literary genres are pigeonholes for writers. I've been thinking about this because there is a lot of great poetry that isn't filed under poetry, but rather is to be found inside works from what seem very unpoetic genres, such as crime fiction. I've been thinking about this because I've been reading more of James Lee Burke‘s series of Dave Robicheaux crime novels set in and around New Orleans. I've been to the Big Easy half a dozen times, and the first time, being alone, I picked up one of Burke's novels to read while having a few beer in one of that city’s many and varied drinking establishments. These many years later I'm still reading him and remain impressed with the pure poetry of so much of his 'prose'—writing so much better than much of the stuff filed in the poetry pigeonhole just because it has line breaks. In browsing through reviews and commentaries on Burke, I find I'm definitely not alone in my admiration. The man is a poet.