[New-Poetry] Creative Writing?

[Skip Fox]

Here's the link to both plays:

 

http://newsbloggers.aol.com/2007/04/17/cho-seung-huis-plays/

 

I would hate having to look at a creative writing student as a person of
potential disturbance. I'm not suggesting that. Just asking a writer's
question: on the basis of these two plays alone, could you have foreseen his
possible level of problems?

 

Yesterday I said I couldn't have, but the plays entered my dreams or came
close to them last night and I could feel the wildness of the characters as
though they were presences. Thick, real, and very active. Boundless confused
energy of violence and hatred. I'm still not saying I could have told from
the writings the level of disturbance, and maybe the plays acted so
personally and energetically upon me because I already knew of Cho's
violence. But this is how they acted upon me and I can't say that I've had
that particular feeling (and seemed to include the possibility of many more)
before.

 

A writer's question, only.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: new-poetry-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu
[mailto:new-poetry-bounces at wiz.cath.vt.edu] On Behalf Of jforjames at aol.com
Sent: Wednesday, April 18, 2007 5:00 PM
To: new-poetry at wiz.cath.vt.edu
Subject: [New-Poetry] Creative Writing?

 

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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