Is Li-Young Lee's Behind My Eyes as bad as it sounded on NPR?

I heard this story on NPR and was surprised at what sort of poetry wins whole mantels full of awards. I'll hold my fire until I actually get one of his books in my hand (from a library), but my trigger finger is twitching. I know he can't help who likes his poetry or how they express themselves, but I thought this from Robert Bly deserved a guffaw:

Bly says it's rare to find a poet in America who has such a "tremendous connection with culture."

"Tremendous"--the culture-man's "very." Also, poets in America generally have less tremendous connections with culture. What he seems to be trying to say is that poets in America are generally not remotely connected to people who have shaped history (not culture) in any material way. Li-Young Lee's poetry is so tremendous, you see, because his father was Mao's doctor and he seems to have had a genuinely tough childhood. And now for something completely different check out Bly's modest homepage:

In his numerous roles as groundbreaking poet, editor, translator, storyteller, and father of what he has called "the expressive men's movement," Bly remains one of the most hotly debated American artists of the past half century. What is it about Bly and his ideas that inspires such impassioned responses from readers and associates? The psychologist Robert Moore believes that "When the cultural and intellectual history of our time is written, Robert Bly will be recognized as the catalyst for a sweeping cultural revolution."

Cultural Revolution indeed.

Edge v. TED

TED wins. It's not just that the presentation is better, although that is important, but I find the whole philosophy of TED (ideas worth spreading) better than Edge's (to promote inquiry into and discussion of intellectual, philosophical, artistic, and literary issues, as well as to work for the intellectual and social achievement of society). Edge is thoroughly self-regarding and self-satisfied. Take a look at the right-hand column where, in the style of bestsellers or blockbusters, they excerpt around 50 blurbs from newspapers and other old media. It might give you the impression that for all their assuredness ("The Third Culture ...[is] taking the place of the traditional intellectual in rendering visible the deeper meanings of our lives, redefining who and what we are.) they crave validation like a child working on an art project who gets his real joy from the pat on the head he gets from his teacher rather than the art itself. TED, on the other hand, is more democratic but the greater openness and inclusive spirit (shown in everything from allowing comments on the videos to their more user-friendly interface) does not lower the discourse. There are some gimmicky TED presentations, but the best of them stack up well against the best Edge has to offer.