Preface - Electronic Poetry Center

From: Nada Gordon
Subject: where the boys are
"Why don’t more women post" is a rhetorical question, right? Everyone knows
why.
(Or did you mean, "where are all the poster girls?")
Camille P. might say it’s because we are neither skilled nor schooled in the art
of directional peeing – although her urine describes a pretty well-targeted arc.
Ron and Spencer, I extend my hand in gratitude for your chivalrous patronage
;-) And Joe, you sound like a sister. You all employed one of the pedagogic
strategies I suggested in my first posting out of three in total, (which was about
the reluctance to speak): teaching the verbally aggressive to use gambits to
draw out silent interlocuters.
My second posting was a short one I intended as a respectful message about a
poet whose works I love. I did not realize someone might find it offensive, and
just, uh, shot it off. It’s the one Ira called "dumb" and reacted to so vehemently.
He and I have since had a volley of private e-mails first furious, then
apologetic, with invitations to continue the dialogue.
Public nudity. Like this posting.
For a day though I was traumatized by my first experience of being flamed as I
walked the streets of Tokyo in a tormented stupor wondering if I really was
dumb.
I have already pointed out to Ira the irony of that choice of adjective.
Anyway that’s why I don’t post or speak so much in male-dom public forums,
although my voice is always wanting to vibrate.
Is it so imperative that we (girls, I mean) seize the reins of (mainly male)
academic discourse? Maybe, but I’d rather be on a different kind of horse, and
take off the stupid uncomfortable bridle – and be free to let Pegasus(sa) go
where she wants, like I just wanted to say that I wanted the horse to be a pink
one, not in spite of it being a dumb thing to say but precisely because it is