Letters

Letters

MS. OLDS REGRETS

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

MS. OLDS REGRETS

We were highly gratified, but not surprised, by the massive outpouring of near-unanimous support for poet Sharon Olds’s decision not to attend the National Book Festival or the dinner and breakfast hosted by the First Lady [“No Thanks, Mrs. Bush,” Oct. 10]. A sample of the mail follows.    –The Editors

New York City

Three rousing cheers for Sharon Olds, who showed courage and wisdom in turning down Laura Bush’s invitation. Every person who breaks bread at the White House tacitly condones the slaughter in Iraq, which her husband initiated when he arrogantly and unilaterally declared this horrific war.

MICHAEL MAXTONE-GRAHAM


Bremerton, Wash.

Sharon Olds, your ability to articulate is exceeded only by your courage. I stand in awe. Thank you.

JENNIFER CECERE


Lexington, Ky.

What gives me hope in these bleak days is the resonance of such powerful voices as that of Sharon Olds. I would despair, were it not for poets like her.

MARTHA GALLION GEHRINGER


Albuquerque

Bravo! Three Cheers! Good Show!–for not accepting Mrs. W.’s invitation. We need more like Sharon Olds!

H. MILTON PEEK


Wyncote, Pa.

For me, this is what family values means.

MARLENE SCHWARTZ


Eureka, Calif.

It is difficult to type while standing and wildly applauding poet Sharon Olds’s breathtaking decline of Laura Bush’s dinner invitation. Perhaps Ms. Bush will see in the letter the difference between politics and poetry. The former requires pretense, artifice and the ability to hide one’s genuine face. The latter (to be done well) requires candor, authenticity and the ability to speak the truth without flinching. For these reasons Ms. Olds is a brilliant poet and Ms. Bush is, well… married to the President.

CARLA BAKU


Enumclaw, Wash.

Sharon Olds’s letter to Laura Bush has circulated all across the country to this far-most corner. If everyone would “walk the talk” of their beliefs, we would recover. Sharon, you have contributed to strengthening and healing in so many ways.

JUDY NICKELS


Hemet, Calif.

The idea that a single person can project her moral outrage by refusing to dine with the First Lady appeals to my holistic sense of what we should all be doing. Sharon Olds and Cindy Sheehan have the courage to say, “This is not right–this is immoral.” I am wondering where the “men” are who fight so hard to be elected as our representatives.

JIM PANKEY


Studio City, Calif.

Hmmm. Given the ear of the queen the poet chooses to remain silent. Given an opportunity to talk with the priest the poet sings to the choir. Given a chance to dialogue with the enemy the poet denies any inherent possibility within such dialogue. Given the challenge of improbable odds against planting a viable seed the poet paves over the near-barren patch she is given. Given a chance to write the poem of a lifetime the poet publishes a letter. The poet did, no doubt, the best she could and God bless her for it, but God, if I ever have the poet’s opportunity, please help me find the Eartha Kitt within.

DREW KATZMAN

In 1968 singer-actress Eartha Kitt famously denounced the Vietnam War at a White House gathering hosted by Lady Bird Johnson.    –The Editors


Dublin, Ireland

I read Sharon Olds’s letter with a sense of relief and pride. Relief because it is so necessary for us far beyond America’s troubled shores to know that there are still Americans for whom civilized, humane values are alive and paramount, and pride that a poet whose work I love and admire should have such dignified fire in her, such a profound belief that poetry can never be at the service of lies.

It is tempting, as Ms. Olds points out, to speak truth to power–such moments have their glamour–but who can believe now that tyrants listen to poets? She has chosen the wiser course: Her absence from that White House table is eloquent echo to all those forever silenced in the bloodbath of Iraq.

THEO DORGAN


Verona, Va.

I appreciated Ms. Olds’s letter so profoundly that I used my lunch break from work to go purchase three volumes of her poetry. I would love to see her sales numbers peak in a show of solidarity and gratitude for her eloquence and grace and grit.

SARAH KNORR


Mystic, Conn.

Sharon Olds eloquently speaks for me and makes my heart beat stronger yet–and at 71 years, still working from necessity, a ferryboat deckhand, I must purchase at least one of her books, proud that in this fog of shame I am still proud of this country that has begot a Melville, Dickinson and Sharon Olds.

BARRY THOMAS


San Francisco

Sharon Olds speaks for all of us. My eyes welled up in tears–tears of gratitude. What courage and eloquence. I printed the letter so my class can read it. We all need inspiration in these times. My thanks to Sharon for providing it.

PAT WYNNE


SMILE WHEN YOU SAY THAT…

Rockville, Md.

I understand Matt Bors’s point in the “Revised Science Textbooks for Christians” [“Comix Nation,” Oct. 10], but I take exception to the stereotype he employs. Apparently, Bors has never met a liberal Christian. I have. The comic would more appropriately have been titled “Revised Science Textbooks for Fundamentalists.”

EDWARD WALDMAN


‘PAT ROBERTSON’ REPLIES

New York City

MATT BORS


GAZA DISENGAGEMENT

Berkeley, Calif.

Richard Falk is quick to conclude from his post-disengagement analysis [“Gaza Illusions,” Sept. 12] that “this disengagement represents a dangerous step backward in the struggle to find a just peace for these two peoples.”

What Falk discounts is the power of international pressure on the decision to disengage from Gaza in the first place. International pressure also brought about Israel’s grudging coordination of the immediate aspects of the disengagement with the Palestinians. And it has secured an Israeli commitment to coordinate the larger issues (border control, customs and taxes, sea and airports, safe passage between Gaza and the West Bank) in the immediate future.

It can be expected that in the final months of 2005, with Palestinian elections certain and Israeli elections probable in January and February, there will be very little in the way of further developments, other than the conclusion of the negotiated “coordination” of issues related to Gaza. Israel can be expected to continue its attempt at settlement expansion during the diplomatic lull, but thus far repeated attempts to complete the “Jerusalem envelope” and the expansion of Ariel have been turned back by international pressure.

To those who deny even the possibility of an alternative post-disengagement future than their dire predictions of the mass imprisonment of the Gazans, I can only remind them of the words of respected Ha’aretz journalist Gideon Levy, who, following Sharon’s unveiling of his disengagement initiative, wrote (and I think I am quoting him exactly enough, although from memory), “If Ariel Sharon removes even a single settlement from the Gaza Strip, I am a house plant.” He was extensively quoted on the left. Oops.

MARCIA FREEDMAN
President, Brit Tzedek v’Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace;
Former Member of the Israeli Knesset


FALK REPLIES

Santa Barbara, Calif.

Of course, let’s hope that Marcia Freedman is right to think that “international pressure” can push the peace process beyond the Gaza disengagement, but I remain doubtful. No matter the minority opposition to Sharon’s policy in Gaza, unilateral disengagement was fully consistent with Sharon’s view of an imposed rather than a negotiated peace. When Gaza lost its “value” as an Israeli bargaining chip, disengagement was strongly supported by the pragmatics of Israel’s vision of security, territorial expansion and “peace.” The flip side of disengagement is the settlement-enclosing Israeli security wall.

RICHARD FALK


CORRECTION

In Roberto Lovato’s “The War for Latinos” [Oct. 3], Jorge Mariscal should have been identified as a professor at the University of California, San Diego, not the University of San Diego.

Support The Nation this Giving Tuesday


Today is #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving that typically kicks off the year-end fundraising season for organizations that depend on donor support to make ends meet and enable them to do their work—including
The Nation

To help us mobilize our community in this critical moment, an anonymous donor is matching every gift The Nation receives today, dollar-for-dollar, up to $25,000. That means that until midnight tonight, every gift will be doubled, and its impact will go twice as far. 

Right now, the free press is facing an uphill battle like we’ve never faced before. The incoming administration considers independent journalists “enemies of the people.” Attacks on free speech and freedom of the press, legal and physical attacks on journalists, and the ever-increasing power and spread of misinformation campaigns all threaten not just our ability to do our work but our readers’ ability to find news, reporting, and analysis they can trust. 

If we hit our goal today, that’s $50,000 in total revenue to shore up our newsroom, power our investigative reporting and deep political analysis, and ensure that we’re ready to serve as a beacon of truth, civil resistance, and progressive power in the weeks and months to come.

From our abolitionist roots to our ongoing dedication to upholding the principles of democracy and freedom, The Nation has been speaking truth to power for 160 years. In the days ahead, our work will matter more than it ever has. To stand up against political authoritarianism, white supremacy, a court system overrun by far-right appointees, and the myriad other threats looming on the horizon, we’ll need communities that are informed, connected, fearless, and empowered with the truth. 

This outcome in November is one none of us hoped to see. But for more than a century and a half, The Nation has been preparing to meet it. We’re ready for the fight ahead, and now, we need you to stand with us. Join us by making a donation to The Nation today, while every dollar goes twice as far.

Onward, in gratitude and solidarity,

Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editorial Director and Publisher, The Nation

Ad Policy
x