Who the Bleep Is Tom Clark?

Who the bleep is Tom Clark?  Is he shaman, psychic, or soothsayer?  What is his blog, Tom Clark Beyond the Pale?  Is it a poetry advice column, a wishing well, a poetry encyclopedia?  What the bleep is going on there?  Is Clark the Wizard of Pale?  I mean, beyond that.  Past.  Just one click and your life can change.  It does.  Order his books, study his words; learn more than you ever thought you could.  You’ll become an addict as you read about mummies, kickshaws, sleepwalkers, Los Angeles, the Fur Trade, and so many animals, plants, birds, and landscapes and their poets that your head will spin off its axis.  Then, it will find its center, still wobbling a bit.  Thanks, Mr. Clark; I could’ve used a V-8 except all the salt scares me.  Clark’s poetry and other works; biographies of Beat era poets, criticism, and stint as editor for Paris Review lend pizzazz and verve to an often bleak contemporary poetry landscape of copycats and ivory tower junkies.  Along with writing partner Angelica Heinegg Clark, Tom Clark has generously stepped up the pulse of American poetry over the course of the past couple of years.  These two are not sitting back, resting on their laurel-strewn rocking chairs.  Pitching years at a mean 70+,  the Clarks are calling out the shots, letting rookies into the field to warm-up (and occasionally start) as they lovingly and expertly toss you the ball, right where your eyes should be, too.