Poetry now!
Congratulations to Isthmus and Ms. Falkenstein for the enlightening and provocative cover story on Timothy Yu (“Not Silent” 5/18/2017) and, more importantly, poetry. Madison has many opportunities to hear poetry, hot off the poet’s laptop, but not enough attention is given to curling up with a book or chapbook of poetry such as Yu’s 100 Chinese Silences. For those new to poetry, either as readers or creators, I suggest the fine selection at A Room of One’s Own, which has both new and used volumes. However the musical strains of a poem read aloud aren’t to be dismissed. The Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets has regular readings all over the state; check out their website at wfop.org. And yes, reading Billy Collins is almost as fun as hearing him live!
— Lewis Bosworth (via email)
Linda Falkenstein’s article “Not Silent” illustrates perfectly how academic scolds like Professor Timothy Yu are building careers by ferreting out any line of poetry or prose that could be construed as offensive to any minority, anywhere. The low point, for me, came when he set his sights on a poem by Billy Collins, which claimed that there are “one hundred kinds of silence/according to Chinese belief.” Later in the poem, Collins, much to Yu’s horror, reveals that he made this up. Apparently, Yu is unaware of the concept of “poetic license,” which essentially means that if you’re a poet, you get to make stuff up. Even about the Chinese!
I thank my lucky stars that I earned my literature degree long before English departments started re-branding literature as just another means for indoctrinating students in the pieties of identity politics. Back then, literature was seen (and taught) for what it is: a time-tested way to explore the endless, unfathomable mysteries of the human condition. I feel sorry for today’s students, who are subjected to efforts by PC vigilantes determined to diminish the universal appeal of literature and, even more alarmingly, to circumscribe the imaginations of its creators.
— Gary Kriewald (via email)
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Hey folks! Regarding page 14 of last week’s issue (“Local company offers insurance to protect the financially vulnerable”), to label something that looks like a news story, and is targeted at the “financially vulnerable,” as anything other than “ADVERTISEMENT” is euphemistically misleading, i.e., slimy. I realize it’s tough to keep a print publication going but you can and should do much better.
— Dave Flanagan (via email)
Correction: In last week’s sports column on the Madison Radicals, Jadon Sullion was misidentified in the photo caption as Jason Scullion.