If it could ever be said that I had a bucket list, one of the items would have been to send him a copy of one of my chapbooks, just to get his feedback. That I never did is a going to go down as a big personal regret.
I was blessed enough to have Alan Feldman share Hoagland's work in his class. I tracked down his book Sweet Ruin and saw the best work in his Donkey Gospel collection appear first in Ploughshares.
I know he had views that were controversial. The controversy almost seems quaint compared to the discourse of today.
Tell you what, hipster activist: You don't bring this up now, and I won't bring up how you once read "When Dean Young Talks About Wine" on an open mic to intentionally piss off another older person.
Thank you for everything, Mr. Hoagland.
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