http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2009/01/mark-doty-and-the-seattle-ricin-scare/ A blog from the Poetry Foundation where contemporary poets debate classic and contemporary poetry from America and around the world. Thu, 18 Mar 2010 21:26:09 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 http://www.poetryfoundation.org/harriet/2009/01/mark-doty-and-the-seattle-ricin-scare/#comment-6665 unreliable narrator Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:52:24 +0000 http://pf/harriet/?p=1222#comment-6665 Am I the only one who thinks immediately of the whole <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Rather#.22Kenneth.2C_what_is_the_frequency.3F.22" rel="nofollow">Donald Barthelme/Dan Rather thing</a>? Once words have left the circumferences of our physical bodies, truly, there's no safekeeping them—e.g. poor Fritz, no doubt <i>revolving</i> in his grave for the better part of a century as his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche (and later, of course, National Socialism) selectively excerpted from/entirely altered the meaning of his work. Or, consider the inexplicably-ever-popular-with-celebrity-murderers <i>Catcher in the Rye</i>. As precedented as it may be, I'm sorry this has happened to Mr. Doty (and the citizens of Seattle). Am I the only one who thinks immediately of the whole Donald Barthelme/Dan Rather thing?
Once words have left the circumferences of our physical bodies, truly, there’s no safekeeping them—e.g. poor Fritz, no doubt revolving in his grave for the better part of a century as his sister Elisabeth Förster-Nietzsche (and later, of course, National Socialism) selectively excerpted from/entirely altered the meaning of his work. Or, consider the inexplicably-ever-popular-with-celebrity-murderers Catcher in the Rye.
As precedented as it may be, I’m sorry this has happened to Mr. Doty (and the citizens of Seattle).

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