07-05-2023, 08:04 AM
Just a quick note, as I have only now seen this and I must sleep, but I think there is a difference between a poem that references many obscure and idiosyncratic things, and a poem that is inspired by or referencing just one thing. The single internet link to one thing, I believe, could be artfully incorporated into the title or (obviously) within the poem itself. Elliott's poems were packed with references. Obscure and personal references (not "fairly standard cultural references" as you have suggested the Nasadiya Sukta is). If I were to write a poem with a single "fairly standard cultural reference", I think, I would hope, I could confidently do it without a footnote. Or link to Wikipedia. It would work on the concept of "levels". If you can't enjoy a poem without knowing something outside what is said in the poem, then it fails on the first level. If you know a little more and can get the subtext or references, then that's a bonus extra level of complexity.