Brickbat: No, You May Not

Credit: Michiel Hendryckx

David Olio, a teacher at Connecticut's South Windsor High School, has been placed on paid leave after reading a sexually explicit poem to students.  The poem, "Please Master," by Allen Ginsberg describes a number of sexual acts between two males.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

"My son is not in that class. If he was, I think I would be mortified," the parent said. "It was extremely inappropriate."

That parent should probably take a stroll through the lad's browser history.

But at the risk of being unpopular, I agree with the suspension. Poetry in school? What a waste of time.

[Ted S.]

When I was in high school, we read E.E. Cummings' poem "I Like My Body When It Is With Your Body".

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

How about the best short poem of romance ever?

"Candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker"

- Ogden Nash

[Redmanfms]

I don't have an opinion on the teacher's suspension (paid vacation), but I will say I actually met Ginsberg when I was a kid.

Shudders.

He was a sleazy perv with terrible hygiene. He smelled like a combination of gym socks and a garbage dump, with just a whiff of shit. It's been over 20 years and I still remember it. He is the foulest smelling human I've ever met.

And his "poetry" is was garbage too.

[Redmanfms]

*is

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Heh.

I was gonna say people still read that counter-culture crap?

I remember in school the 'cool' English teacher would 'off topic' discuss the lyrics of Springsteen, Dylan and The Beatles. The way she talked about it was really down to earth and fun to listen to. She was just trying to make the point that poetry came in many forms including with music attached to it. We even used to talk about all the alternative stuff - this being the 80s and all.

None of this perv stuff.

[Almanian!]

Wow - two of those are the top-two most-overrated "musicians" EVAR - and one is the Beatles.

"Poetry" indeed...

Hendrix was the only person who could make me like anything by Dylan. And nothing can make me like anything by Fat Boy's heartthrob.

[Rufus J. Firefly]

Meh.

I disagree.

/kneels before Zod humbly.

[Ted S.]

Top three most overrated.

[antisocial-ist]

Can't have any list of most overrated bands without KISS.

[Ted S.]

What do you have against fat boys?

[greeve]

I need to take issue with your claim "And his "poetry" is garbage too.".

Since we're talking about poetry, though, I'm going to couch my disagreement in the form of a plagiarized poem that I saw in Middle School, but I can't find a trace of with Google:

You say his poetry's garbage? Balderdash!
Garbage has meat! His poetry's trash!

[Almanian!]

Yeah, lemme help you out - no, I don't want that kind of "poetry" in my kid's HS English course. If you do....well...

College? Fine. High school? Absolutely not. No reason to be reading something like this. To what purpose?

In HS Engllish, we were "challenged" with some good stuff. About the most sexually-explicit stuff was Oedipus Rex. Maybe a little with all the shenanigans in "The Great Gatsby." That was enough.

Well, that and getting nasty with Lori R, Annette P. and others at the Friday-night dances after the football and basketball games, of course...

[Cyto]

Really? You didn't cover Chaucer in high school?

[Almanian!]

Sure we did. "Canterbury Tales", of course.

[Cyto]

A lot more sexually explicit activity in there than in Oedipus. Loads of adultery, rape, even a red hot poker up the old brown-eye. Pretty baudy stuff.

[Rich]

"The Miller's Tale" FTW!

[straffinrun]

Fart jokes don't age.

[UnCivilServant]

You didn't cover Chaucer in high school?

No. There was a lot we didn't cover, so I ended up writing stories to entertain myself and fill in the gaps from my public schooling.

[airforce]

Want to do something really fun? Tell an English professor that your favorite poet is Longfellow. The reaction is hilarious.

[antisocial-ist]

Semi OT. I've applied to be a teacher and head football coach at 2 private schools. Does this mean that anytime I want a paid vacation all I have to do is read some pervy, inappropriate, smut?

[Charles Easterly]

Ask SugarFree if you can borrow one of his more explicit stories..

[Almanian!]

WHOA! That'll get you life without parole.

Walk gingerly on that turf, friend....

[antisocial-ist]

Maybe I'll just put a promotional poster for Warty Hugeman: Time Cop up in the weight room.

[Almanian!]

Just don't sing any racist songs, and you should be OK.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Don't think I didn't see what you did there...

*narrows gaze*

[Almanian!]

Oh, I see another troll has stopped by to stink up the joint with nonsensical blather.

Joy. Ima take some opiates and try to enjoy work with a buzz on...

[WTF]

This troll apparently like to argue with the voices in his head.

[Almanian!]

M H reminds me of Mary Stack, but down about 9 notches.

I miss HERC - he was the [BEST]. Not so much a [TROLL] as a [FREAK].

[Charles Easterly]

"This troll apparently like to argue with the voices in his head."
.

It's a condition of mental divergence. He finds himself on the planet Ogo, part of an intellectual elite, preparing to subjugate the barbarian hordes on Pluto. But even though this is a totally convincing reality for him in every way, nevertheless Ogo is actually a construct of his psyche. He is mentally divergent, in that he is escaping certain unnamed realities that plague his life here. When he stops going there, he will be well.

[Ted S.]

It says, "Don't look back. You can never look back."

[Ted S.]

Just don't start posting stoned like Agile Cyborg.

[Swiss Servator... Switzy!]

Why not? I'd like to see those two in a dialog.

[WTF]

That would probably be hilarious.

[Rich]

IIRC, stuff like the following was read in *my* high school:

...
License my roving hands, and let them go,
Behind, before, above, between, below.
O my America! my new-found-land,
My kingdom, safeliest when with one man man'd,
My mine of precious stones: my emperie,
How blest am I in this discovering thee!
To enter in these bonds, is to be free;
Then where my hand is set, my seal shall be.
...

-- John Donne, 1699

[Heroic Mulatto]

I've always liked Herrick's "The Vine".

[Rich]

Very nice. 😎

[Libertarian]

Question: is using "...and I" where "... and me" is correct a valid reason for impeachment and/or removal from office? I say yes.

http://cdn.pjmedia.com/instapu......26-PM.png

[Rich]

Careful what you ask for ?.

[Libertarian]

I remember the world-wide crisis that occurred when Quayle stuck an extra "e" at the end of "potato." It was proof that he was unfit for office. WF Buckley wrote a column where he said the "I" vs. "me" was a much more serious infraction -- and then proceeded to quote Bill Clinton using it.

[sarcasmic]

But, but, but.... Tolerance! Diversity!