[Laura Heidy-Halberstein]

http://www.theonion.com/content/news...t_for_the_arts

[Michael Cantor]

What really pisses me off - and it isn't even touched on in the article - is that much of the drain on our formal poetry resources was disguised by outsourcing great chunks of the octave, including a critical envelope rhyme scheme, to HS Enterprises of Texas; and HS turns out to be - you guessed it! - HALISONNET - a newly formed Haliburton subsidiary which, coincidentally, is run by former NEA employee and Gioia protege, Dan Stone. And then, after almost $100 million was distributed by HaliSonnet (much of it unaccounted for - $15 million alone, for example, apparently spent with a right wing sonnet consultant and vouchered only by a handwritten note signed "Paul"), an unexplained decision was made to switch to a Shakespearean scheme. The more you dig, the worse this looks.

[This message has been edited by Michael Cantor (edited September 12, 2008).]

[James Wilk]

Very funny! You gotta love The Onion!

Jim

[Terese Coe]

No joke--Dana Gioia will be stepping down from his NEA position by January.

It's unfortunate, but then he deserves to dedicate himself to his artistic work. Best of luck, Dana!
http://www.usatoday.com/news/educati...ts-gioia_N.htm

[Michael Cantor]

Terese is right about Dana Gioia. He basically took six years out of his creative career to serve his country, and did it selflessly and well. He was at our Newburyport Literary Festival this year, promoting poetry and literature - and looking tired. For most of us at the Poet's table he joined it was one night out of the year, meeting buddies, putting up with some speechifying by the local pols. For Dana, it was what he did week after week, on the road, promoting the Arts, fighting for funding. I won't stop laughing at things like the Onion article, and joining in the funning - but Dana deserves our applause and gratitude.

[Janice D. Soderling]

And Michael, if they were really on the ball at NEA, they would ban all words of dubious origin--like the French do.

No more frigging around with words like beau or lieu or bouquet (pay them Frenchies back) or algebra (really subversive roots), or hurricane (getting rid of the word might just get rid of the weather) or moose (that would fix Palin's wagon) and chocolate (EVERYBODY would lose weight).

My mind boggles at the possibilities.

(Edited in to agree with your serious side too.) Dana G. is admired even outside the borders of the USA.