1. I did not troll TS. I've been a fan of hers a long time. I responded politely but pointed out that the opinions in her essay were unsupported. No insults. She chose not to respond, which is her right. I went on to write a couple of stories defending modern poetry from the kind of hackneyed criticism she had published.

Impressive how you say no insults, then follow it up with an insult (hackneyed criticism). Also, from your original post -

'Your opinions on this topic shed light only on your opinionated ignorance.'

'You don't know jack about poetry, so please stop slandering those of us who do'

and then in response to me:

'God I love it when trolls with no education tell me my degrees mean nothing.'

Are they not insults in your highly-educated opinion?

Anyway, I felt it might help if I pointed out that your original post came out as a bit aggressive, that's all.

It's probably the reason TS didn't reply to you.

3. Did you not say my degrees were imaginary? That definitely implies meaningless. You also said my name was imaginary, another deliberate insult.

What I said was,

You need to learn that there is what you call opinionated ignorance and there is ignorance based on the opinions of others which is what your letters represent.

I meant to point out that you feel TS's original opinion is ignorance while yours is wisdom since it is based on the opinions of others.

Since those opinions of others that you studied must have begun with an original thought at some point, I don't understand how you are distinguishing between the two.

Her words made sense outside the intellectual prison that restricts poetry to specific frameworks. So when you say,

You don't know jack about poetry, so please stop slandering those of us who do.

Sorry but you sound like a complete tosser. (Not saying you are one, just that you sound like one.)

And yes, your letters and your name were both assigned to you at some point. So, saying they are make-believe may be insulting to you, but it's also the truth.

I meant to stimulate a philosophical line of discussion rather than trigger an ego reaction.

4. I don't know if you went to college, but it's clear you are not educated. An educated person knows the value of studying the opinions of other people, and knows the difference between an educated opinion and drunken blather.

This kind of intellectual snobbery belongs in the 70s Pal. It's like Jordan Peterson having the audacity to write a book called the twelve rules for life after two decades of academic life.

I could be a military veteran, a cancer survivor, an ex-rock star, a former drug addict, or a Buddhist monk. None of that will matter to you because I didn't sit behind a desk eating Cheetos and highlighting paragraphs for fifteen years.

This self-worshipping culture of academics respecting only other academics is deranged.

6. I have published in dozens of magazines, and my writings on Medium have earned around $7000 so far. So yes, I actually do know something about writing.

Congratulations on your Medium income. That's genuinely an achievement.

Nobody has said you don't know about writing. It was you that was telling TS that she didn't know about poetry.

I respect you and your background, ER. I genuinely do. I was being a little playful and pointing out that you were the original troll in this conversation, and if you can't see it from reading your original quotes, I feel you may have to start all of your education again from the beginning.

Regards,

FTB