News at Eleven: While in the zoo, looking at the seals,

[Frederick] Seidel says, "I once wrote a poem about a girl I was in love with. I compared her to a seal. . . . It was a poetic problem," he explains, "to connect the two--the girl and the seal--because it's really almost preposterous."

This is perhaps the least preposterous comparison to be found in Seidel's work. Long regarded as a kind of elegant cult figure in poetry circles, Seidel has a reputation that precedes him into every room: decadent, name-dropper, sexual dalliant, Ducati enthusiast, son of privilege.

from Los Angeles Times: 'Poems: 1959-2009' by Frederick Seidel

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