Words Inside Out: a Note on the Poetry of Simon Pettet

[para. 1]: "Simon Pettet is a particular and demanding poet whose work connects many different aspects of poetry as it has been so brilliantly and exhaustively practiced in The Big Apple since the 1950s. Because of apprenticeships with divers people (photographer and filmmaker Rudy Burkhardt, anthologist/ magus Harry Smith and Beat guru Allen Ginsberg, to name a few), Pettet’s work contains threads and traces of master influences. He also penetrates the hive-like cluster of facts distributed over Manhattan isle with the greeny lyric importation of his native tongue. Absorbing remarkable creative energy, he’s made poetry unique to his own cultural background. His Selected Poems (Talisman House, 1995), shows a range of insight impacted with street smarts, ancient wisdom and poetry know-how."