A Monument in Utopia
Despite the guffaws greeting it, I think Kathryn Jean Lopez has the right idea – indeed, I only wish that George W. Bush had always been a civics teacher in a Texas public high school. In Gertrude Schnackenberg’s long poem about Osip Mandelstam that shares a title with this blog entry, the poet imagines an alternate Stalin as a fellow who hangs around the library reading and scribbling down his ideas. His ideas are vile, even in this alternate existence. But since he’s just a guy who hangs around the library, he can’t do any damage. I take Schnackenberg to imply that that’s the best we can even dream: not that monsters won’t walk among us, but that luck might keep them on unobtrusive paths.
Comment by Nancy Lebovitz —
July 6, 2008 @ 10:17 am
Oh yeah, I fantasize about the alternate world that included weird old ‘Dolf– harmless enough, but always ranting about the Jews.
Comment by Tim —
July 6, 2008 @ 10:56 am
The Iron Dream Norman Spinrad
Comment by LarryM —
July 6, 2008 @ 2:12 pm
Congruent with some of my thoughts lately. It’s tempting to think that United States has been producing more than its share of monsters of late. But most likely we have just done an unusually thorough job of putting our monsters in power than most nations manage.
Comment by Mona —
July 6, 2008 @ 3:35 pm
Still, Jim, K-Lo is batshit.
Comment by Jim Henley —
July 6, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
So? It would be totally awesome if Robert Mugabe became an ice-cream-truck driver. If that makes me “batshit,” I don’t want to be bat . . . food?
Comment by abb1 —
July 6, 2008 @ 4:13 pm
Nah, I don’t think it’s true that Stalin and Bush are somehow unusually wicked fellas. It that too much power in the hands of one person is a very wicked situation, that’s all.
Comment by Mona —
July 6, 2008 @ 4:57 pm
Jim, Jim, my dearest pal. You have a child/children, yes? Mugabe as an ice-cream truck driver is one thing. Would you want Young Master Offering taught government by W?
K-Lo is on something worse than drugs. Think of “the children,” Jim.
Comment by jkc —
July 6, 2008 @ 4:59 pm
I don’t know about Gertrude Schnackenberg but I’m a big fan of her (alas, late) husband’s work.
Comment by Thoreau —
July 6, 2008 @ 8:42 pm
He can teach classes in the prison’s continuing education wing:
“Mass murder 101: Be sure to get Congressional authorization.”
“Advanced torture techniques”
“Distinguished seminar series: Embezzlement”
Comment by brucedene —
July 7, 2008 @ 7:43 pm
Who’s that other poet who asked god to retrospectively bless Hitler with a surer hand with the paintbrush? Same guy who turned me on to “The Lamplit Answer,” I think.