To rhyme’s no crime

To be fair, [Dana] Gioia has been baffling critics for decades. During the 1980s, he was mockingly labeled as the champion of “New Formalism” because he liked to write poems in traditional rhyme and meter. It’s a critique that has always puzzled Gioia, who recognized that most people like structure to their poems.

“When I started, it was considered un-American,” he said. “But the times have changed because hip-hop has reminded intellectuals that average people like meter, rhyme and form — these are not elitist tools.” / Eli Wolfe, San Francisco Chronicle