kerri lee

Dear TJ, While I respect encouraging honesty in the slam community and the poetic domain, I am unsure that an anonymous blog post in which you do not come forth with your full name to defend your statements is the earnestness you aim for. I rarely feel the need to do this, but I would like to defend my intentions and my art. If my poetry came from a dishonest place, I would not write. Many times poets adopt personas, like Will Evan’s poem from the perspective of a mentally disabled person when he is not, in fact, mentally disabled. The senators poem that you are referring to originates from genuine disgust upon the decision of the NY State Senate to lawfully decide that homosexual couples do not deserve the same treatment as heterosexual ones. In my perspective, I had two options: 1) Write about it, or 2) Find the daughters of every senator who voted against marriage equality and seduce them. The poem you speak of was an attempt to regain the control that the state was taking away and hopefully through hearing/reading it, a disheartened person may feel empowered. The lines “i have no use for your rings. your daughter wears a garter made of my braids. we elope every time it rains” intend that the laws placed upon people are irrelevant because some of these couples are more married that my parents, or yours, or the senators themselves. That being said, TJ, how exactly are you so informed about my sexual preferences? Have you assumed that because you have seen me kiss a boy that I am completely heterosexual? That because I am not currently dating a girl that it is impossible that I identify as bisexual or queer? If you were thinking during my poem, “Wait? is this girl gay or straight?” then you’ve completely missed the point. The need to classify a person’s sexuality in order to legitimize them is why that poem was written. And you are the person who tries to put names, labels, and yellow tape on my/their/our love. So I guess what I’m saying, TJ, is do you have any daughters or sisters than I can perform cunnilingus on? Because I would love to. How’s that for honesty? As far as trash-talking New York poets, I think you are wildly misinformed. I have a great relationship with the poets in the scene that I am just recently dipping my toes into. Whoever WriteBloody decides to publish, I am sure will be an incredible choice informed by the forty poem manuscripts that have been sent in, and not upon your super lame and misinformed blog post. But hey, I’d love to chat, you know - HONESTLY, with more than just our initials tagged onto it. Come say what up - MeganFalley@Gmail.com TJ, I happen to be very personally offended that you say that “she isn’t gay! AT ALL!” when I actually happen to be the person you are speaking of, Megan Falley’s, significant other. I would be highly suspicious if you never saw us kiss in public, which indeed we are not ashamed to do, and that would also mean that your stalking skills are lacking quite a bit (I mean you do claim to know this girl fairly well, no?) For you to TELL SOMEONE WHAT THEIR SEXUALITY IS, is so far beyond me, I can barely come to terms with it. When you date someone of one sex, that does not mean that you are forever branded to that sex, so just because she has dated men before, does not mean that she can never turn back, or is not attracted to women, queer, bisexuals, pansexuals, asexuals, transexuals, intersexuals, questioning, or gender queer. I feel as though you may have missed the point with not only this poem specifically, but also poetry in general. The labeling that you have created, right now, saying this ignorant statement, is exactly the kind of speech and blind-sided hate that this poem is trying to fight against. It is because of people LIKE YOU sitting in positions of power within the government that these issues exist. As far as you being misinformed about poetry in general, that I am quite sorry for. Having my Bachelor’s degree in literature (which Ms. Falley does as well but I’m sure you know that already! right???) puts me slightly ahead of the poetry curve than I would believe you (unless you have gotten your PhD already, then I would blame the NY state for putting the word “Doctor” within breathing range of your name). With that in mind, I encourage you to read Rita Dove, Phillis Wheatley, Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, James Joyce’s Ulysses, Charles Dickens, William Blake, classical persona pieces, but I can go on for days. (Khary Jackson has a poem about being an old man) I mean dude, until you are more informed with the definition of poetry beyond what a few Friday slams and Wikipedia may tell you, I am offering the thread in which to stitch your mouth closed with. *The irony of you saying she trash talks another poet’s art in the NY scene actually made me laugh out loud. You may also feel free to e-mail me in order to have a more personable discussion, meet for afternoon tea, or for me to let you borrow my copy of Robert Browning’s poetry, or perhaps American Psycho (or did you think that was real too??) Cheers, HONESTLYkerri@gmail.com

Dear TJ,

While I respect encouraging honesty in the slam community and the poetic domain, I am unsure that an anonymous blog post in which you do not come forth with your full name to defend your statements is the earnestness you aim for.

I rarely feel the need to do this, but I would like to defend my intentions and my art. If my poetry came from a dishonest place, I would not write. Many times poets adopt personas, like Will Evan’s poem from the perspective of a mentally disabled person when he is not, in fact, mentally disabled. The senators poem that you are referring to originates from genuine disgust upon the decision of the NY State Senate to lawfully decide that homosexual couples do not deserve the same treatment as heterosexual ones. In my perspective, I had two options:

1) Write about it, or

2) Find the daughters of every senator who voted against marriage equality and seduce them.

The poem you speak of was an attempt to regain the control that the state was taking away and hopefully through hearing/reading it, a disheartened person may feel empowered. The lines “i have no use for your rings. your daughter wears a garter made of my braids. we elope every time it rains” intend that the laws placed upon people are irrelevant because some of these couples are more married that my parents, or yours, or the senators themselves.

That being said, TJ, how exactly are you so informed about my sexual preferences? Have you assumed that because you have seen me kiss a boy that I am completely heterosexual? That because I am not currently dating a girl that it is impossible that I identify as bisexual or queer? If you were thinking during my poem, “Wait? is this girl gay or straight?” then you’ve completely missed the point. The need to classify a person’s sexuality in order to legitimize them is why that poem was written. And you are the person who tries to put names, labels, and yellow tape on my/their/our love. So I guess what I’m saying, TJ, is do you have any daughters or sisters than I can perform cunnilingus on? Because I would love to. How’s that for honesty?

As far as trash-talking New York poets, I think you are wildly misinformed. I have a great relationship with the poets in the scene that I am just recently dipping my toes into. Whoever WriteBloody decides to publish, I am sure will be an incredible choice informed by the forty poem manuscripts that have been sent in, and not upon your super lame and misinformed blog post.

But hey, I’d love to chat, you know - HONESTLY, with more than just our initials tagged onto it. Come say what up - MeganFalley@Gmail.com

TJ, I happen to be very personally offended that you say that “she isn’t gay! AT ALL!” when I actually happen to be the person you are speaking of, Megan Falley’s, significant other. I would be highly suspicious if you never saw us kiss in public, which indeed we are not ashamed to do, and that would also mean that your stalking skills are lacking quite a bit (I mean you do claim to know this girl fairly well, no?) For you to TELL SOMEONE WHAT THEIR SEXUALITY IS, is so far beyond me, I can barely come to terms with it. When you date someone of one sex, that does not mean that you are forever branded to that sex, so just because she has dated men before, does not mean that she can never turn back, or is not attracted to women, queer, bisexuals, pansexuals, asexuals, transexuals, intersexuals, questioning, or gender queer. I feel as though you may have missed the point with not only this poem specifically, but also poetry in general. The labeling that you have created, right now, saying this ignorant statement, is exactly the kind of speech and blind-sided hate that this poem is trying to fight against. It is because of people LIKE YOU sitting in positions of power within the government that these issues exist. As far as you being misinformed about poetry in general, that I am quite sorry for. Having my Bachelor’s degree in literature (which Ms. Falley does as well but I’m sure you know that already! right???) puts me slightly ahead of the poetry curve than I would believe you (unless you have gotten your PhD already, then I would blame the NY state for putting the word “Doctor” within breathing range of your name). With that in mind, I encourage you to read Rita Dove, Phillis Wheatley, Faulkner’s As I Lay Dying, James Joyce’s Ulysses, Charles Dickens, William Blake, classical persona pieces, but I can go on for days. (Khary Jackson has a poem about being an old man) I mean dude, until you are more informed with the definition of poetry beyond what a few Friday slams and Wikipedia may tell you, I am offering the thread in which to stitch your mouth closed with.
*The irony of you saying she trash talks another poet’s art in the NY scene actually made me laugh out loud.
You may also feel free to e-mail me in order to have a more personable discussion, meet for afternoon tea, or for me to let you borrow my copy of Robert Browning’s poetry, or perhaps American Psycho (or did you think that was real too??)

Cheers,
HONESTLYkerri@gmail.com

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