My apologies to John Erhardt for my rude quote. The fact is, I am a major Barrett Watten fan. Also I felt justifiably insulted, as I published loads of articles in L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E and I chafe at his dismissal of all the work in the mag. The other thing is, I suffer from some degree of guilt about the fact that I have not written about BW's work much, considering how much I like it. He is quoted frequently by me, most recently in my poem "Tessera"- which I plan to read on Sunday at 21 Grand. It was published in a recent Poetry Project Newslatter (Gary and Nada, editors). He is the rare writer whose EVERY WORD I like. I highly highly recommend his Sun and Moon collection "Frame." His "Total Syntax" is a classic and his "Bad History" is not only fascinating, it is a kind of underground hit. I liked all his chapbooks, every single one. They are hard to find, so, don't miss your chance, as SPD still has some the last time I checked. Johnny, baby, what's not to like? OK, I will admit to the charge of some pedanticism. But it is passionate pedanticism, not lazy, noodling around didacticism. OK, Barrett can be a grouch. So, how many writers do you know who aren't? OK, Charles Bernstein isn't. But he is too nice! (But don't stop being so nice to me, Charles). Etc, etc.