[New-Poetry] Creative Writing?

[jforjames at aol.com]

It will be interesting to see if the risk management committees of colleges and universities don't call for Creative Writing teachers to get training on how to spot potentially dangerous students. Not a enviable position to be in, trying to figure out where the line is between the merely fictive (that one might no care for or finds objectionable) and a situation of real potential violence being manifest in the writings. I'm sure we'll see some false alarms and some overzealous lit policing as fallout from this tragedy.
 
I don't teach so it won't be my worry. The tiny thing I can relate this burden to, is that having been the host of open mikes over the years, I always worried there would be a blatantly racist or abusive poet holding forth and causing me to have to step to the podium to physically escort the offending party from the premises. (Fortunately my only headache was when I'd have to put the 'verbal hook' on someone who couldn't tell the difference between three pages of poetry and second section of his epic work in progress). But there was always that nighmare scenario of a 250 pound strapping Skinhead poet who'd just stomp me into a bloody pulp if I tried to grab the mike away from him.
Finnegan
 
-----Original Message-----
From: skip at louisiana.edu 
  I’m not trying to be morbid by looking at this, but just trying to see if I could have seen signs of the level of his disturbance. I don’t think I could have. Here’s a short and twisted little play he wrote. The actions are at times inexplicable (when not exaggerated), the actions are violent, the relationships are twisted, and the name (McBeef) is disturbing, but I cannot honestly say I would have notified the authorities if I would have seen this in an early creative writing class (1st or 2nd undergraduate level).
 
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