Jim Behrle on David Lehman

19 September 2006

Jim has been posting blow-by-blow derision of Best American Poetry 2006 since it came out. Now he is accusing Lehman’s (secret) wife of sock-puppeting to bolser the book’s Amazon reviews. Unfortunately, everything about his posts indicate the reaction of a hurt child. Is sock-puppeting unscrupulous? Definitely. Are poets often oversensitive? You betcha. Does throwing a tantrum help? Not when it comes to convincing people your interests are objective.

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  • Jimmy

    Thanks–but I don’t know that I’ve called anyone a “sock puppet.” The initial post by Poetry Lover attacked me personally–who’s the one who’s really throwing a tantrum? Why do my amazon reviews keep getting erased? It’s not my job to make anyone agree with me (look at the book and decide for yourself if it’s worth your money). My interest is well known: laughs.

    xxxjimmy

  • Robert

    Hey Jim,

    Thanks for chiming in here. I didn’t catch that you felt personally attacked; makes more sense. My main point, though, is that you started lampooning BAP way before this scandal came to light, using a cartoon style I’ve typically only seen in political satire. But this isn’t politics — it’s people’s art (whether or not it’s art you like). I guess no matter how good or bad a poem I wrote and got published, I’d hate to see little stickers with bears pissing on it and balloon-headed poet laureates talking smack.

    I know we all take ourselves way too seriously. It just seems like that kind of satire doesn’t help anybody. Plus, it just makes it seem like you were looking for a vendetta from the time the book came out, and that doesn’t help further this being brought to light in an objective way. I think you have vaid points. But I also think any mainstream reporter that sees how you’ve argued your case probably won’t touch the story now. And if Lehman is sock puppeting via his (secret? huh?) wife, people beside blogger poets oughta know.

    By the way, I just meant this:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sockpuppet_%28internet%29

    “Sock Puppet” was my words, I admit — not yours. Maybe technically “Meat Puppet” would have been more correct.

  • Jimmy

    Thanks: THE BAP 2006 was a predictably weak edition. That I threatened to make fun of it is of little consequence: if it was a good edtiion, filled with “The Best Poems” I’d be having a much tougher time. And if CK Williams can’t take a little acryillic poo-paint, well boo-hoo. I’m not interested in attracting “mainstream reporters.” You’re deluding yourself: this is as much about politics and misuses of political power as anything out there…

  • Robert

    Thanks, Jimmy. I know you see this as a political issue. But framing it this way leaves lots of room for people to read between the lines that jealousy and indignation are involved as much as an actual abuse of power. I see it much more as an issue of artistic/editorial integrity than as an issue of politcs.

    Michael Hiltzik recently got suspended from the LA Times for sock puppeting. Patrick Frey from the blog Patterico exposed the whole thing. But he didn’t do it with poo poo paint. Case in point, I think, on this one: the silence you note in your own post today. Either a) the po-gestapo has a strangelhold on our minds or b) the po-blogger community is totally apathetic or c) its hard to tell what’s fact and what’s indignation — and hence the confused lull in attention. I think maybe some combination is at work.

    In any case, thanks for bringing it to light. I liked your letter to Gargagliano, and encourage you to take more of this tact in dealing with an issue that strikes me as no joking matter.

  • Jimmy

    Thanks: I leave the “tact” to lesser artists. I’m famous for my buzzsaw and I’m the master at work: I doubt whether you’d find as funny or cogent a deconstruct of poems and poets elsewhere. Whether people get fired or not, I leave that to the middle managers.

    xxxjimmy

  • http://www.collinkelley.blogspot.com Collin Kelley

    Jimmy’s cartoons usually make me laugh, mainly because he is so adept at pushing buttons and showcasing the absurdity that flourishes in the “poetry scene” today.

    Personally, I’ve just refused to play the game. I don’t own a single edition of BAP, nor do I want it cluttering my shelves. It’s my own personal taste…I find the majority of what’s gone into BAP in the last four or five years to be mediocre at best and just crap at worst. I know it has its fans, and they are welcome to it. You can’t regulate personal taste…as I’ve said many times on my blog…so I never bother. You like what you like.

    I’m never going to appear in BAP or Poetry or any of those big mags, because that’s not the path I’ve chosen for my work. Poetry is not my career…it’s my passion. As long as it’s being published somewhere (and it has been for the last 15 years or so), I’m happy.