Do you mean St. Elizabeth's, as in the hospital for the criminally insane?

As a matter of fact, yes, St. Elizabeth's, as in the hospital for the criminally insane.

Why would you do that when you could be at home reading his "Pisan Cantos"?

Because I don't think you can really understand the "Pisan Cantos" until you get to know the man. He is a lunatic, after all. Seeing him helps me get closer to his poetry. But I also went because I care about him.

You clearly learned nothing as my student at Yale.

No, I learned. I learned about New Criticism. I just don't agree with it. Please don't unfriend me.

Hey, now. I don't hate history; I just think people seek too much historical meaning in the lines of a poem. It doesn't do justice to the poem itself.

That's not what I heard…

Look, I say that history should not be overestimated when interpreting a poem, not that it's unimportant as a discipline. And, you should know, I know a lot about history. I am more in the ahistorical school than the antihistorical school.

So are you saying you want to come to the conference?

I'm listening.

We need to talk about sex.

That makes me feel really uncomfortable.

I know. That's the point. You really need to loosen up. Let your hair down. Take off those fuddy-duddy spectacles and stop being such a, well, Protestant.

Well, I am a Methodist.

That doesn't mean you have to act like one. You need to stop ignoring sex and aggression. It's in those poems. It's everywhere. I'm not asking you to read Freud. I'm just saying think about it human bodies and human emotions!

I'm really more comfortable talking about pottery...