Greetings!

Do you think that poetry deserves a wider readership?

Not necessarily, as it's meant to be appreciated. The Philistines banging their heads against the gates wouldn't appreciate Frank O'Hara or Eileen Morgan or Donald Hall, so I don't care if they read them

Do bookstores with no designated poetry section but entire shelves full of Ayn Rand and Bibles make you angry?

I've read a lot of Ayn Rand... but yes, that's pretty ridiculous. There's this second hand bookstore a couple of miles from me that has every poet you've ever heard of, and many you never will hear of, on the cheap. So I'm okay for now.

If you had a beautiful little bookstore and could stock it with whatever you wanted, wouldn't you have a section devoted to poetry?

Yes.

Why is poetry important?

Its importance has varied over the years depending on its context. Obviously, works were more important in times when they held a greater market share. Obviously, now, the importance socio-culturally has diminished substantially, as with all forms of classic literature, and only a great work could really alter that.

Also:
What are your favorite poems?

Let's just say somewhere in between reading Ginsberg talk about gay sex on a train and William Carlos Williams "The Desert Music" and hundreds of others.

Who are your favorite poets?

Stevens, WCW, Bolano, Yeats, Ted Berrigan (only some, like this: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/16355), and many more, I've probably forgotten my true favorites and these are all lies.

How did you discover them?

Libraries and people.

Why should I read them? I am compiling a christmas list, and need to know.

You should not necessarily do one thing or not do that thing.