Quote:
Originally Posted by R. S. Gwynn
Bob, that Jews have historically been associated with money-lending and that this practice has been a major reason for anti-Semitism can't be denied.
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I'm not doubting that, Sam, but I disagree with your conclusion that one therefore cannot speak of money-lending without being seen to reference Jews. Blacks have been stereotypically associated with watermelon, but it's still possible to write a poem about watermelon without being accused of an anti-black subtext.
I just think she deserves the benefit of the doubt here, absent any other reason in her life or poetry to attribute bigoted motives that appear (if at all) only in a subtext, which by definition isn't actually in the text but requires one to engage in speculative extrapolation. And in the case of JG, I don't think she writes to convey messages of any kind, but only to let her mind bounce around and try to be engaging and then to let the reader enjoy (if possible) the ride and form his or her own meanings.
I'm not defending the poem as poetry. I don't much like it. I'm just saying that I don't see it as evil.
The main thing I hold against her, by the way, is that she forcefully pushed me away from meter and rhyme many years ago when I was in her workshop, and she was far too persuasive, causing me to take an extended detour into free verse that I wish I had skipped. But I never got the slightest whiff of bigotry from her. She was a generous and passionate teacher with a diverse array of poetry students.