i asked meckenzie to name some poets whose work might be preparation for her own. she didnt answer this exactly but named 4 poets who were important to her:

"poets - it's so long ago but i'm thinking now just of poets who matter one way or another to me - just a few - Paul Celan, Lorine Niedecker, George Oppen. Charles Bernstein too."

celan & bernstein have been mentioned already.. but what does such a list mean? they make the territory seem a little more familiar (knowing - to an extent - the four writers named). the names - as metonyms for their work - become metaphors for mckenzies poetry. it's like coming to a new country & calling it new bernstein. & tho this may make us feel more comfortable, there are obvious problems with such a naming. whether the writer herself inhabits new bernstein is one question; another is how the poetry or land itself feels about its new name.