A-verse to a snub White House disinvitation prompts poetry readings at GC&SU

The Macon Telegraph ^ | 2-13-03 | Rob Peecher

[eyespysomething]

MILLEDGEVILLE - Laura Bush disinvited poets to the White House, so Wednesday poets sat on the front lawn at Georgia College & State University.

The first lady's decision to cancel a poetry symposium first scheduled for Wednesday afternoon launched what GC&SU English professor Martin Lammon called a "grass-roots campaign" of poets across the country to stage poetry readings Wednesday.

About 30 students attended the reading and sat in the sunshine while students and faculty read their own works and the works of others. Not all of the poems read by students and faculty at GC&SU were anti-war political statements, but some were.

Bill Lambdin, a GC&SU student, read "The Billion Freedoms," an anti-war poem written in 1943 by Kenneth Patcher.

"Any man who speaks of a Christian war or of war as the savior of anything, that man is a liar, and a murderer," Lambdin read from the poem.

Lambdin said he chose the poem because it is "a very anti-war poem" and he "felt that's what's needed right now." But he admitted his disagreement with Bush's cancellation of the poetry symposium added to his decision.

"That might have had something to do with it, too," Lambdin said.

Lammon said "in the broadest sense of the word" he believes the cancellation of the poetry forum at the White House is the equal of censorship.

Adam Selzer, a student at the university who read one of his own poems, noted that the public-address system set up for the poetry reading wasn't working and suggested the first lady may have been hiding behind a nearby tree and was the cause for the microphone not working.

But not all of those reading Wednesday were there to make a political statement. One woman read a poem about her hometown of Macon. Another read a Robert Frost poem.

The poetry symposium at the White House was to focus on the works of Emily Dickinson, Langston Hughes and Walt Whitman. Poet Sam Hamill declined to attend the symposium and then suggested that others who were attending take with them anti-war poems.

"While Mrs. Bush respects the right of all Americans to express their opinions, she, too, has opinions and believes it would be inappropriate to turn a literary event into a political forum," Bush spokeswoman Noelia Rodriguez said Jan. 30 when the symposium was canceled.

Lammon said he organized the poetry reading at GC&SU because he "felt like poetry had been silenced."

But Lammon also acknowledged that with poetry readings going on across the country, poets almost certainly had more of a voice Wednesday than if the symposium had gone on as scheduled.

"All these readings happening probably wouldn't have happened," Lammon said. "If it hadn't been canceled, there would have been some poets protesting, but they would have been the minority. They would have talked about Walt Whitman and Emily Dickinson.

"I think there was an element of fear in canceling the event. É I think I'd call it censorship, at least in the broadest sense of the word."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To contact Rob Peecher, call (706) 485-3987 or e-mail rpeecher@communicomm.com.

[eyespysomething]

<< Lammon said "in the broadest sense of the word" he believes the cancellation of the poetry forum at the White House is the equal of censorship. >>>

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=censorship cen·sor·ship ( P ) Pronunciation Key (snsr-shp) n. 1. The act, process, or practice of censoring. 2. The office or authority of a Roman censor. 3. Psychology. Prevention of disturbing or painful thoughts or feelings from reaching consciousness except in a disguised form.

ALSO: censorship

n 1: counterintelligence achieved by banning or deleting any information of value to the enemy [syn: censoring, security review] 2: deleting parts of publications or correspondence or theatrical performances [syn: censoring] Source: WordNet ® 1.6, © 1997 Princeton University

Yeah, in the broad sense that it isn't censorship! No one is not letting them read their poems and spout their anti-Bush, oops, anti-war rhetoric, but interestingly enough, Laura Bush doesn't want to hear it.

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

I remember Alan Ginzburg in an interview once defining a poet as "someone who simpers a lot".

[struggle]

laura bush cancelled them because she read their stuff and has taste.

[commandante_zero]

I remember what Milledgeville was famous for a few decades ago--the state nuthouse. Sounds like plus ca change...

[eyespysomething]

Thanks. Those are great, but they wouldn't get them
Hint to you: Stretch out GC & SU to the whole name Georgia College and State University because University rhymes with diversity.

[eyespysomething]

ping