World Class Poetry Blog

Poetry Leads Teacher To Resign
16 March 2008, the poet @ 9:34 pm

I still, after several hundred similar situations, find these kinds of incidents disturbing. I understand the image question. The school doesn’t want an artist’s work to tarnish its image. I also understand that some parents are concerned that a teacher may prove to be a poor role model for their children. But do these people not realize that poets, artists, novelists, and other artisans are in a different category altogether? It’s not as if someone writing about a murder is going to go out and commit one. It’s actually just the opposite - he is less likely to commit a murder by directing those humanly qualities into a creative outlet.

What happens less often is a public uproar over the shaky ethics of the business community. A man can be guilty of a questionable business deal and continue in his position because his actions weren’t technically illegal. But if a poet or a novelist publishes a work of imagination where a character uses profanity then his entire character is maligned by a Puritan mob. Or if an airline stewardess exposes a thigh then, OMG, she must be a loose woman!

When will people begin to see the arts as a profession - one that reflects life and, as a reflection, must be truthful about that which it reflects? I have this recurring fear that I will some day be in a position again to have to look for a job (I am currently self employed) and I will be unable to find anyone to hire me because I used the F word in a poem or in a blog post. Never mind that my talents can increase the profitability of any company I choose to work for. Never mind that my character and work ethic are among the highest of my generation. Those qualities pale in comparison to how well one can fake morality. It pisses me off.

When I was in Iraq, a company first sergeant sent an e-mail to my battalion commander accusing my wife of spreading rumors and making waves on a family readiness forum. Of course, military commanders have no jurisdiction over family support websites, but that didn’t matter. My battalion commander called me into his office and asked me about what my wife was doing. I confessed that I had no idea because I hadn’t heard about it, but I’d check into it. And I did. The things my wife had been accused of were actually being done by someone else. I promptly sent an e-mail to my commander and essentially told him he was full of shit because he didn’t have his facts straight and that he should have researched the matter before ever talking to me about the situation instead of just chasing rumors. He accused me of being unprofessional.

That’s the mentality of the upright and moral in our country. They get something wrong and you’re unprofessional if you bring it to their attention. That’s also, unfortunately, the attitude of many people in the religious community when it comes to the arts. They will go see a movie with bloodshed, violence, sex scenes, crime, profanity, and gratuitous sacrilege, but let an artist in their own community show a reflection of their own dirty deeds and he’s an infidel. I am dreading the day that I will have to talk to members of my church about the subject matter of some of my poems. Such is my cross to bear.

1 Comment a “Poetry Leads Teacher To Resign”

1. Jim Murdoch — March 17, 2008 @ 5:56 am
   

   It’s tiresome to read about this. This is the 21st century. I really don’t have anything profound to add to what you’ve said. Why are we becoming so obsessed with making a show of protecting our kids and not preparing them for life in the real world?

Submit a comment

Name

E-mail (not published)

Website URL

Enable CommentLuv which will try and parse your last blog post, please be patient while it finds it for you

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail