Discussion: School Fires Veteran Teacher For Reading Alan Ginsberg Poem

[system1]

Discussion for article #236928

[maxaroo]

Did the teacher wear a beret and play the bongos while reciting the poem? I hope so.

[artemisia]

I’ll bet they have absolutely no problem with him teaching Walt Whitman, though.

[mantan]

last 6 lines…

Please master call me a dog, an ass beast, a wet asshole,
& fuck me more violent, my eyes hid with your palms round my skull
& plunge down in a brutal hard lash thru soft drip-fish
& throb thru five seconds to spurt out your semen heat
over & over, bamming it in while I cry out your name I do love you
please Master.

Seems a bit much for high school without parental consent…

[eric_jaffa]

When I was in high school, Alan Ginsberg himself visited and read a poem.

(Stuyvesant, public high school in Manhattan, 1980s.)

[mantan]

Do you remember the poem he read?

[eric_jaffa]

I remember that he changed some of the words to refer to “Stuyvesant Park” and to the then-recent Supreme Court decision upholding a sodomy conviction in Texas. But I don’t remember what the original poem was.

[estamm]

It is important to include these lines for context. It wasn’t some kiddy book like ‘Mary has two daddies’. The judgment of this teacher is highly questionable.

[maxaroo]

Sure, if you take lines out of context, just about anything can seem offensive!

[maxaroo]

I think the teacher should say it was all an attempt at humor, and apologize if his innocent actions inadvertently offended anyone.
This works all the time for GOP politicians.

[mantan]

Had the poem been titled ‘Please Denny’ and read in Political Science…

[eric_jaffa]

It would be too much if the context weren’t teaching high school seniors about one of the most famous poets.

[mantan]

Connecticut did surprise me, more a Columbus, OH kinda story…

[whatithink]

The Ginsberg incident didn’t make much of a splash until one student tried to bail on a test the next day, citing the previous reading of the poem as a harmful distraction

So it wasn’t a big deal until some little shit used as an excuse, then they fired the teacher…all because of one gutless little shit. Way to go South Windsor School District, you fucking morons.

[artemisia]

The last six lines seem tame compared to some of the stuff I’ve read over the years. I mean, come on, how about a story that involves people actually kissing peoples a**es? Oh, and grabbing women by the “quaint”…which back then meant something more sexual than it does now. If we are to ban Ginsberg we must ban Shakespeare and Chaucer and Wilde for they could be really filthy indeed.

Heck, I’ve also seen some fan fic these days which makes that look tame.

[wwss]

I wonder if the offended students, parents and board members would also agree that reading the Bible would be equally offensive? The Song of Solomon sure does jump to mind … although the sexuality is much more muted, it also adds the racial element. Remember, Ginsburg was openly and proudly gay.

Also … do the parents also make sure that their little darlings never listen to the radio? I hear much worse there … and how many bleeps emanate from their TV sets during viewing?

[carlosfiance]

¨(Y)ou put the emotional health of some students at risk.¨
Christ on a stick, we’re talking about 17 and 18 year olds. I think they can handle it.

[carlosfiance]

I dunno. Seems kinda romantic. Kids these days like romance, no?

[chuck_voellinger]

Yeah, that can be a bit much when you aren’t expecting it. Was there some kind of heads up before he read it? Its one thing to have it in the library and another to have it sort of sprung on you. I can see how some folks would be pretty upset. Don’t know the context here and that would be some nice digging for TPM, eh?

[midnight_rambler]

The Song of Solomon sure does jump to mind … although the sexuality is much more muted

Ezekiel (23:17-21) isn’t:
And the Babylonians came to her into the bed of love, and they defiled her with their lust; and after she was polluted by them, she turned from them in disgust.

When she carried on her harlotry so openly and flaunted her nakedness, I turned in disgust from her, as I had turned from her sister.

Yet she increased her harlotry, remembering the days of her youth, when she played the harlot in the land of Egypt and doted upon her paramours there, whose members were like those of asses, and whose emissions were like those of horses.

Thus you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when the Egyptians handled your bosom and pressed your young breasts.