While blowing my rent money at Barnes & Noble last night, a friend started reading aloud some Pablo Nueruda poems. As she was reading, I couldn't help but notice that, while Nueruda is more classically romantic in his writings than Simon is in his, there are indeed similarities between their styles ("The Chauffer" kept coming to mind). I was wondering, then, what poets - if any and BESIDES Shakespeare - inspire or influence Simon's lyrics. Secondly, does Simon consider his lyrics poetry? Thanks vj

"Ha, i would hVE TO SAY (apart from hitting the capstan lock button by mistake) that TS Eliot is my favourite poet but whether this reflects in my work, which I do not consider to be poetry by the way, I don't know. I'll have to check out this Nueruda chap thanx s"