Moving Way On

Well, I have a large article—about 50 pages—on Dorn’s late work I could chop up for blogosphere consumption. But I’m not sure it would contribute in any significant way to the conversations that are going on here and at the Poetry Foundation. At this point Aram Saroyan’s article has been instrumental in re-opening an old conversation about Dorn’s work, though I don’t feel like anything has advanced on that score. I tried to open up the context that surrounds the more objectionable side of Dorn’s writing here the other day, but that seems to have only pushed things farther down an old, well-trodden road. Eventually, it will take a queer reading of late Dorn to redirect the conversation away from a lot of over-educated, hyper-sensitive guys working out their public performances. A critical reading is necessary and it would be of value not only to us in poetry, but to queer and cultural studies, and other fields.

My own experience shows that there are communities of people willing to talk about late Dorn. I’ve presented papers and published articles for rhetoric and communications conferences as I strive to “professionalize” my vita. Typically, I find more genuine critique of the work with these other disciplinary tribes, which makes me wonder if the creative writing / literary world has the critical capacity or tools to really conduct a conversation on these issues. For more than a decade conversations similar to these here recently have erupted online. Someone shouts from the mountaintop: “Dorn’s a homophobe.” A voice shoots back: “bullshit, he’s not.” Others provide socio-cultural contexts for Dorn’s ideas. Someone shrieks, “so what?” Friends of Dorn write friend-of-Dorn responses, loyal to the memory of the man. Others situate Dorn among the fascist, anti-Semites of modernism. I come away from this feeling raw, exposed, and inadequate to the situation. There are people reading this blog who loved Ed—adore his memory—and I hate to allow any disgrace of that here. At the same time, the late work remains a significant contribution, and I’d like one day to see an actual discussion of it, and so, foolishly, I occasionally push it forward, suggesting ways it might be addressed. I have strong affinities with gay communities and writers, and their concerns regarding this mean a lot to me, too.

In December it will be 10 years since Ed passed away. Later this year I’ll bring some things out on this blog that I hope are productive and reflective on his work. For now, anyone so interested might check out Matthew Cooperman’s good essay on Dorn’s poetry and his relation to the public and the American West.