Too frosty a reception?

I was at Kinokuniya today after having lunch and coffee with an elderly former colleague. When I was browsing the poetry section, an elderly Japanese writer/author came up to talk to me.

He asked me if I was interested in poetry. I said I was keen on poetry because I loved the sound and the use of words. He explained to me why he loved poetry and suggested that I should read Rumi, Frost as well as Homer's Iliad and The Odyssey. Following that, he also recommended Hemingway and Dostoevsky. In contrast, he panned works by Neruda and Plath, saying that they were too commercial.

I listened attentively. Then he took out some of his own works (short stories and poems) and showed them to me, probably seeing if I wanted to buy a copy. I didn't, though, but I wondered if I should have.

We parted ways, but later I put back Colossus by Plath and bought a collection of poems by Robert Frost instead.

PS: I really enjoyed my lunch with my former colleague. We ended up talking about how Christians view life after death, as well as discussing Hindusim, Buddhism and Islam. It was educational for me, listening to the views of a near-60-year-old man. :-)