Sherry Chandler

An interesting discussion into possible motivations for cancelling The Writer’s Almanac at Jeff Jarvis’s BuzzMachine. Thanks to Jeff Hess for the link.

Comments to my own (possibly tongue-in-cheek) speculations tend to bring me back down to earth. And, by the way, I think there may have been some satire in what my correspondent wrote, too. I invited WUKY general manager Tom Godell to come by the blog and speak for himself. Maybe he will yet do so. Some people take a weekend off.

I do have one lingering question I’d appreciate any help in answering. In this passage from the Herald-Leader article on Thursday:

The warnings, issued by the program’s production company, came about Curse of the Cat Woman by Edward Field, which contained violent themes and the word “breast”; Thinking About the Past by Donald Justice, which also used the word “breast”; and Reunion by Amber Coverdale, which contained the phrase “get high.” The poems were scheduled for broadcast between July 23 and Aug. 12.

who is “the program’s production company?” Is this some one at Minnesota Public Radio issuing a warning about Curse of the Cat Woman? If so, that also seems odd to me. I just really think we have to address this Mrs. Grundyism at the federal level. Contact the FCC, contact your senators and representatives.

Just a side note — the offending poems strike me as maybe the edgiest, quirkiest, most intriguing ones Garrison has featured in the last few weeks.

Even though the crisis has, well not passed really but reached a truce, I still think everybody should go take a look at Rene Hales’s protest collage. Rene used an image of the print article in the Herald-Leader superimposed with parts of her e-mail correspondence with WUKY’s general manager. She also quotes from the Amber Coverdale poem, Reunion, that uses the fateful phrase “get high.” While you’re over there, take a look at the rest of Rene’s portfolio. You’ll be impressed.

Others who have blogged or journaled about this (and either pinged in or commented here) include: kooljmacd, Have Coffee Will Write, Idyllopus.

And finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t share with you one more e-mail that I received from my corresponding group:

Well, FCC wUKy –
where will I get my poetry
now that Writers Almanac
has run awry of decency?

Mr. Godell would do well
to worry himself less
about breasts and
more about balls, then
we wouldn’t be in this mess!