America is waiting for prophetic poets. “Big trembling Oklahomas need poetry and nakedness,” Allen had told Jack in Mexico City, trying to rouse him from his lethargy, an exhaustion of spirit that’s overtaken him just now when they’re finally breaking through, when they’re about to become famous. Maybe even internationally, Allen keeps insisting to Jack, knowing his hunger for fame, knowing also his pitiable secret — the worm of envy hidden in his heart.
