I think there's no excuse for the American poetry reader not knowing a good deal about what is going on in the rest of the world.

Laughlin's outdoor activities helped other literary friendships though; for many years he and Kenneth Rexroth took an annual camping trip together in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California. At times Laughlin's skiing got in the way of his business. Biography
He was born in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania the son of Henry Hughart and Marjory Rea Laughlin.