Tim Love: A Fairy Tale
Once upon a time the good poets realised that they weren't good at
Public Relations. This made them sad, because although they didn't
write for the public, they wanted to be read. When some young poets
showed a flare for PR, the good poets sold more books, so they
didn't criticise the young poets unless it was in some learned
journal that hardly anyone read. In return, whenever the young
poets were asked who their favourite poets were, they mentioned
the good poets though they never read them. In this way the good
poets widened their readership and the young poets gained
respectability. The only losers were those members of the public
who believed what they read in the papers, but that sort always
lose out anyway, so none of the poets felt guilty about the
conspiracy, and they all lied happily ever after.