Why I Couldn't Care Any Less About The Best American Poetry 2015 "Controversy"

I haven't gotten my copy on The Best American Poetry 2015, so I don't much to say about the current controversy where a white man pretended to be an Asian man in order to be published in an American poetry journal. What I do remember is that the editorial process and contributor make-up of the Best American Poetry anthology series has changed quite a bit over the past decade or so. When the series began in 1988 all the editors were older white men and women noted for being part of the academic orthodoxy and selecting poetry for the anthology by similar poets. In fact, they went so far as to continue publishing their dead friends years, or even decades after they were gone instead of really delving into the America poetry scene and finding younger and more diverse voices.

Best American Poetry 1988-2014

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None of this makes any real difference to me because being a career small press poet I have about as much chance of ever appearing in an anthology like this as I do of playing quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys. These are the games people we make fun of play. assholes who have their snout far into the public trough their asses have no idea their crack is showing. The poetry isn't all that great, but the politics ensure whoever edits the series will just publish a certain standard of poetry. In this case Sherman Alexie was the yearly editor and he admits he was just enamored by the title and Chinese sounding name of this entry. 

With this poet exists or not seems irrelevant. I haven't even read the poem yet, and probably won't until I order my copy on Ebay as I do every year now. I actually don't even really have an opinion about this, I'm just trying to get to 500 words and get on with my day of preparing for fantasy football season. I don't like poets. I don't think anyone does, really. And they're right. Because this is the type of petty garbage Plato predicted poets would argue over if they were ever in charge of anything

Unfortunately for readers, there are still a few things a few poets are in charge of. Namely public grants, funding, a few literary journals of note, and some academic writing programs. That's not a lot, and we should all be grateful they don't have any more power than that, but it's just enough power to ruin the perception of poetry the typical non-reader of poetry has about all poetry being written in America at any one time.

Sherman Alexie is a poet who has come closest to being a small press editor in the history of the series. I don't like him, but only because I saw once on his website he told his fans to leave him alone because he was too busy to respond to their questions. Kind of a jerkoff thing to do, but maybe he was just having a bad day. I was running a restaurant at that time, working seventy hours a week, and I never would have dreamed of treating a customer or a fan (if I had one) that way. To each his own. But that's a good example of why most people have a negative opinion of poets, and why they're mostly right in my opinion and experience.

I wanted to say something about race, gender, politics, age, and how all of these things enter into the politics of publishing an anthology like The Best American Poetry, but I don't really give much of a shit. Fight it out over the slop they pour in the trough all you want, I'm happy knowing I'll never be part of that grotesque spectacle of relying on the leavings of others.

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Three Things I Want To Believe In

I'm about as cynical and pessimistic as it gets. I'm like Mikey in that old Life cereal commercial. I think everything is fake and it's all bad and no matter what any of does we're doomed. But this summer three different things are giving me hope. There are three things I really want to believe in.

I want to believe that the Chicago Cubs have a chance to win the World Series after 107 years. Not only this year, but for many years to come. As I write this I am watching the Cubs play the White Sox after having won 6 straight games, and 13 out of 14 games. I have to admit after the All Star break when the Phillies swept the Cubs I thought to myself "Here we go again, this team just isn't ready or good enough to make it to the playoffs." Then after they started to gain some momentum in Colorado and beat the hell out of the Pirates, Giants, and Brewers I started to really believe. For forty years I've had Cardinal and White Sox fans taunt me over being a Cub fan. Nothing in this world would be sweeter than to see the Cubs dash off a decade where they won five or six World Series. And with the 4th rated minor league system and a network in place in countries like Cuba, Venezuela, and the Dominican Republic, not to mention mountains of free agent money to spend, I think the future has finally arrived for Cub fans.

Bernie Sanders. I can count the times I've walked into a polling booth and exited feeling really good about who I just voted for on one hand. I even felt betrayed by Obama's first administration and voted for Jill Stein in protest in 2012. Even though Bill Clinton was two of those votes, I've never been excited about feeling I had to vote for Hillary Clinton. I can't quite put my finger on it because I know we have quite a lot in common politically, and it's not because she's a woman (see above), but I've never wanted to feel Hillary Clinton was my only choice. When Bernie Sanders announced his candidacy for President I was excited, nit because I believed he had any chance to win, but because it now gave me an alternative, at least in the primary, even though in Illinois the nomination is usually sewn up by the time we vote. I get the Bernie Buzz in my email, and have been for many years, so I was more amused that he decided to run that seriously engaged, but the past couple of months have given me hope that Americans are ready for change. To address the issues of wealth and income equality, racism, sexism, corporate power, and the militarization of our police forces. This week when it was reported that he has taken a lead in the polls in New Hampshire, and that Elizabeth Warren was considering coming out in support of him, I just felt overwhelmed. For once I feel like I want to put my energy and faith behind this candidate. If Warren were to be placed on the ticket as Vice President I just believe we've never seen anything like that in American history. 

The third thing is the Outsider Poetry I have been working on, and poetry in general. The Downtown area where I live is experiencing a Renaissance, and part of that is the arts community. This Fall I will be part of several show at Fall Art Scene, and I have published two books by Rockford writers. Publishing the work of other people has been a real blessing to me and gives me a sense of purpose in the literary community. I have started two separate publications to promote Outsider Poetry, or writing by those who exist and create outside of the norms of culture die to mental illness, being self-trained, or simply having chose no to conform. The one I just stared is called Outsider Poetry Magazine, and the one I have been working on is simply called Outsider Poetry.

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Rockford Poetry

I never knew being associated with the search term Rockford Poetry was important to me. Until yesterday when Jenny told me it was important to me to be associated with the search term Rockford Poetry. Because I am the most widely published poet in Rockford (even though I quit publishing in 1996) and because I have the only serious literary press in Rockford I assumed if I looked for Rockford Poetry I'd be right there.

Wrong.

Not only wasn't I right there, I wasn't anywhere 

Having  been born in Swedish American hospital, which I can all but see from the window of the building that serves as Zombie Logic Press headquarters, and having published poetry here since 1997, I feel awful that I haven't been able to make Google consider my efforts more noteworthy. I think that will change in the coming years, as I have plans to publish the first books of several up-and-coming poets from America's 3rd most dangerous city. Already I have published the first book of C.J. Campbell, and later this year we will be releasing an as-yet untitled poetry book by noir poet Dennis Gulling, a protege of Todd Moore, perhaps the most published and widely read poet the Rockford area has ever had.

After my heart surgery two years ago it became crystal clear to me I wanted to do my part to make Rockford more than just a punchline to people from other cities who only hear we have been named to another most fat, least educated, most violent or miserable list. 

I have written a piece about the history of Rockford poetry that will be published later this year. In my research for that story I found many times when poetry almost took a hold in Rockford, but eventually fizzled because of egos, in fighting, or lack of support from the community.

I'm not sure what time I have left to accomplish this, or make my contribution, but I hope to do all I can in these coming years to support the poetry scene in Rockford, which I know for a fact has numerous brave, unique, and powerful voices. 

I regret that because of Schizoid Personality Disorder and tremendous social anxiety I won't be able to do readings because it would be an honor to take the stage with some of these writers, but maybe I can use Zombie Logic Press and Zombie Logic Review to give a forum for their voices. 

Rockford Poetry

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