There's been a bit of discussion today about the new VIDA stats on gender bias in various journals.

Here's what the stats look like for BlackInc's The Best Australian Poems 2011.

  • 126 poems
  • 81 by men
  • 45 by women

Views: 1285

Comment by Justin Lowe on November 17, 2012 at 7:22

Who are you "AutoPirate"? In the immortal words of Elaine Benness - "let's get a look at ya".

Comment by Dermott Ryder on November 17, 2012 at 9:51

 

Justin,

 

I agree. There are far too many anonymous pontificators, too many hidden wafflers skulking behind bogus names, uninformative symbols, misleading photographs and blue avatars.

 

Inevitably, a hidden identity will, sooner or later, present opinions that it would not have the courage to present under its real name. Hiding ones identity in order to publish trenchant criticism is at best the act of a ‘wee timorous beastie’ and at worst the sad and sorry sign of intellectual turpitude.

 

Regards

DR

Comment by Lou Steer on November 18, 2012 at 21:08

I know Autopirate in person, he also goes by the name of Elastic Sidewalk and as such, runs the Blue Space for performance poetry at Petersham Bowling Club, now in its second year.Whatever he writes is his true opinions. I don't necessarily agree with them all, but I call him friend.

Comment by Lou Steer on November 18, 2012 at 21:39

The Blue Space features poets of all genders, we do not discriminate. Come along on the 4th Thursday of the month and see some fine poets!

Comment by AutoPirate on November 19, 2012 at 0:12

Hi Justin, 

Thank you for your question. The name is Ariel Riveros. The symbol I use for those who don't know is the Phoenician Aleph - the first letter of the first alphabet. Bit like a sailing boat, isn' it?

As for Dermott, what's in a name? Cannot you engage the language and not the legal name I inherited from my father? Your moral framing here of cowardice, let's be straight, of those who use avatars online - allows me to read that the playful surface of a computer screen may be a somewhat frustrating for you. If I have caused any offence, I apologise, and also encourage those in similar boats of moralising and litigatious frustration to adapt and be flexible in the various usages of the internet. It is a common form of internet use, and I would not want anyone to suffer ulcers unnecessarily.

I would be surprised if anyone agreed totally with everything anyone else has thought. I'd speculate that most people will disagree with themselves, over time, as they change.

Yet I would not want to discount totally the possibilities of doppelgangers either :)

Best,

Autopirate

Comment by Justin Lowe on November 19, 2012 at 7:35

Thanks for that Ariel, creature of air. But Dermott has a point. In what we assume is a mature forum such as Sydney Poetry, people should have the courtesy to show themselves before expressing their opinions. That it is accepted practice elsewhere doesn't really cut it with me.

Comment by Lou Steer on November 19, 2012 at 17:13

Give it a rest guys!

Comment by Anthony J Langford on November 19, 2012 at 19:42

Ditto. This thread ran its course six + months ago.

Comment by Dermott Ryder on November 20, 2012 at 7:50

 

One of the very useful attributes of this site is that it allows the exchange of mature, reasoned opinions. Why do two member wish to close down the interchange? Why is the time-line more relevant than the substance?

 

For as long as organisations promote gender specific poetry and creative writing competitions and for as long as people hide behind anonymity to publish polemic or to criticise the work, thoughts or opinions of others such threads will not rest. They will continue to resonate in one form or another.

 

Eldridge Cleaver [1938-1998], author and civil rights activist, wrote: If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.

 

Regards

DR

 

 

 

Comment by Lou Steer on November 20, 2012 at 17:09

there is no interchange, there's only an unprovoked and unwarranted attack on a fellow site member with a proven track record in promoting local poets and poetry, unlike either of the attackers. Get back to the topic or get over it.

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