In light of the recent New York State Supreme Court ruling prohibiting gay marriage in that fair state, not to mention the Republican Party’s apparent enthusiasm for banning a practice that has yet to exist, I have to say that I’m 100 percent behind this bigoted, homophobic effort.
Not because I think gay marriage is immoral or a threat to traditional marriage and the family unit. I’m not against it because I hate homosexuals or don’t think gays and lesbians deserve full and equal treatment under the law.
It’s because of writing. I’m against gay marriage in order to protect the institution of literature.
Because if gays got married, they would, like, have a better chance at domestic bliss. At happiness. And if they’re happy, that means all the great writers throughout history who happened to be gay would be less miserable and less likely to write great books.
Think about it. Take Walt Whitman, the perfect Everyman for his times. What if he’d settled down, married a man, and not been fixated on creating the American poetic idiom? He’d be baking cookies and working at the Brooklyn Daily Eagle, that’s what! He’d still be there, goddamnit, writing stupid newspaper stories, and “Leaves of Grass” wouldn’t exist!
A threat to the institution of fiction
Or take the ancient Greeks. What if Plato had married Socrates, instead of publishing the Dialogues? They would have had a nice Athenian existence, dining on olive oil and feta, taking vacations on Crete and collecting Attic vases. Ditto for Aristophanes and all the other great Greek thinkers and writers. They’d be so happy, all domesticated and such, they’d have nothing to write about.
Too far in the past? How about Thomas Mann? You think that a happy dude who spent his weekends grilling kielbasa and drinking warm beer with his husband would write “Death in Venice,” the perfect distillation of sexual repression on the Lido? Don’t think so!
Face it — you can’t write great literature unless you’re goddamn miserable! You have to suffer! If I were gay, I wouldn’t want the security, happiness, and legal standing that marriage confers upon its adherents. No! I’d want to be denied basic rights to health care, parenthood, property, and the societal acceptance that I was “normal.” If I had all of those things, I wouldn’t write!
OK, you’re saying, Wait a Minute, Bookfraud! You’re married. You’ve got the dignity and legal rights of the betrothed. Sometimes you even say you’ve got a good marriage. And you write.
And hey! There’s plenty of people who are miserable and married, and even those who are gay, single, happy, and do write! You can suffer for your art and it may have nothing to do with your sexuality or marital status! Alright! You got me there.
(Irony-challenged, sit over there.)
Sure, you can bet your subscription to Martha Stewart Living that if Tony Kushner had been happily married, he wouldn’t have summoned the anger and depth of feeling needed to write “Angels in America.”
But of course, if gay marriage had been legal all the time, perhaps we might not have had an AIDS crisis in this country among gay men, and there wouldn’t have been “Angels in America” in the first place.
Actually, there are few issues that befuddle and anger me as much as the battle against gay marriage. That we have different classes of citizens (true as it is) makes me sick, that because of who you sleep with disqualifies from the benefits of what is supposed to be an egalitarian society.
What’s humorous (if not sickening) about the anti-gay-marriage homophobia is the idea that the “institution” of marriage is “under attack.” The “defense of marriage bill” and all that. Those of us fortunate to have been hitched a few years already realize we don’t need any help from gays and lesbians for our marriages to go careening off a cliff. We can handle that just fine ourselves.
If you’re married, I know, you don’t suddenly become happy. That’s why the strongest proponents of gay marriage are divorce lawyers! Think of the business they’re going to get!
Walt Whitman Mall – yes. Mrs. Walt Whitman – no.
Oh, I hope all of those groom-groom and bride-bride couples lining up in Massachusetts know what they’re in for. Turning even the most perfect relationship into marriage changes the rules of the game. Usually for the better, but it’s not the same as before. (Trust me on this one.)
But I’m still sticking to my original thesis: if you’re completely content, you’re probably not going to be a novelist, poet, or playwright. I don’t think you’re going to write if you were Prom Queen.
No gay joke intended.
You’re right!
Sad to say, I’m actually too miserable to write.
Maybe if I found myself a nice girl to settle down with, since I all ready crashed a heterosexual marriage, I could see about being miserable in a completely new way.
You’re right!
Sad to say, I’m actually too miserable to write.
Maybe if I found myself a nice girl to settle down with, since I all ready crashed a heterosexual marriage, I could see about being miserable in a completely new way.
You’re right!
Sad to say, I’m actually too miserable to write.
Maybe if I found myself a nice girl to settle down with, since I all ready crashed a heterosexual marriage, I could see about being miserable in a completely new way.
Think I smell straw burning.
you can?t write great literature unless you?re goddamn miserable!
Kind of agree. My literature prose comes out when I’m down. More serious works.
)
madame d.: experimentation can lead to excellent writing. “too miserable to write” is not unheard of, however.
bernita: the smoke is thick indeed.
m.e. ellis: a better way for me to have put it is, if haven’t suffered, it’s hard to be an artist.
Once again, you prove to me that you know everything. For the first time in a long time I’m happy and now I’m convinced that I’ll never be able to write again. Perhaps I’ll get my heart broken and then I can write a decent sentence again. All I can write about is rainbows and puppies for some reason.
Think I smell straw burning.
Think I smell straw burning.
you can?t write great literature unless you?re goddamn miserable!
Kind of agree. My literature prose comes out when I’m down. More serious works.
)
you can?t write great literature unless you?re goddamn miserable!
Kind of agree. My literature prose comes out when I’m down. More serious works.
)
I think we all write a bit better when we’re miserable or at least irritated, homosexual or not:)I agree with your theory, as kooky as it is, there’s some truth in that!
So we can thank Joshua Bell, the Man Who Ruined Your Marriage, for your insightful and entertaining posts?
rebecca s.: i know nothing, this i know. i do believe you can write when you’re blissfully happy, but it probably won’t be any good unless you can tap into bad memories.
angela: kooky? i don’t do kooky! but thanks for the props. and good to see you here.
languagelover: in addition to any marital woes, i blame joshua bell for all my problems.
I do think good literature comes out of angst, but there are also writers (and musicians) who can summon angst at will. They maybe happily married and have fabulous kids, but can still find that place that wounded them deeply. I’m not angry at the moment…just restless…and that emotion can also help spur the muse.
madame d.: experimentation can lead to excellent writing. “too miserable to write” is not unheard of, however.
bernita: the smoke is thick indeed.
m.e. ellis: a better way for me to have put it is, if haven’t suffered, it’s hard to be an artist.
madame d.: experimentation can lead to excellent writing. “too miserable to write” is not unheard of, however.
bernita: the smoke is thick indeed.
m.e. ellis: a better way for me to have put it is, if haven’t suffered, it’s hard to be an artist.
Once again, you prove to me that you know everything. For the first time in a long time I’m happy and now I’m convinced that I’ll never be able to write again. Perhaps I’ll get my heart broken and then I can write a decent sentence again. All I can write about is rainbows and puppies for some reason.
Once again, you prove to me that you know everything. For the first time in a long time I’m happy and now I’m convinced that I’ll never be able to write again. Perhaps I’ll get my heart broken and then I can write a decent sentence again. All I can write about is rainbows and puppies for some reason.
I think we all write a bit better when we’re miserable or at least irritated, homosexual or not:)I agree with your theory, as kooky as it is, there’s some truth in that!
I think we all write a bit better when we’re miserable or at least irritated, homosexual or not:)I agree with your theory, as kooky as it is, there’s some truth in that!
So we can thank Joshua Bell, the Man Who Ruined Your Marriage, for your insightful and entertaining posts?
So we can thank Joshua Bell, the Man Who Ruined Your Marriage, for your insightful and entertaining posts?
rebecca s.: i know nothing, this i know. i do believe you can write when you’re blissfully happy, but it probably won’t be any good unless you can tap into bad memories.
angela: kooky? i don’t do kooky! but thanks for the props. and good to see you here.
languagelover: in addition to any marital woes, i blame joshua bell for all my problems.
rebecca s.: i know nothing, this i know. i do believe you can write when you’re blissfully happy, but it probably won’t be any good unless you can tap into bad memories.
angela: kooky? i don’t do kooky! but thanks for the props. and good to see you here.
languagelover: in addition to any marital woes, i blame joshua bell for all my problems.
I do think good literature comes out of angst, but there are also writers (and musicians) who can summon angst at will. They maybe happily married and have fabulous kids, but can still find that place that wounded them deeply. I’m not angry at the moment…just restless…and that emotion can also help spur the muse.
I do think good literature comes out of angst, but there are also writers (and musicians) who can summon angst at will. They maybe happily married and have fabulous kids, but can still find that place that wounded them deeply. I’m not angry at the moment…just restless…and that emotion can also help spur the muse.
I’ve had enough misery. I need some happiness to write about. You can only be screwed over so many times, and write about it before you sound paranoid. Though just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t really out to get you.
I was going to quote some of your entry and follow it with, basically, “yeah! right on!” and then I realised I was actually preparing to c&p the entire entry. So I won’t except for this:
Actually, there are few issues that befuddle and anger me as much as the battle against gay marriage. That we have different classes of citizens (true as it is) makes me sick, that because of who you sleep with disqualifies from the benefits of what is supposed to be an egalitarian society. & What?s humorous (if not sickening) about the anti-gay-marriage homophobia is the idea that the ?institution? of marriage is ?under attack.? The “defense of marriage bill” and all that. Those of us fortunate to have been hitched a few years already realize we don?t need any help from gays and lesbians for our marriages to go careening off a cliff. We can handle that just fine ourselves
Yeah! Right on! The attack on gay marriage is a sad sorry sickening state of affairs. And now I must sit back and admire how you tied it into having to be miserable to produce great literature. Great entry.
I’ve had enough misery. I need some happiness to write about. You can only be screwed over so many times, and write about it before you sound paranoid. Though just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t really out to get you.
I’ve had enough misery. I need some happiness to write about. You can only be screwed over so many times, and write about it before you sound paranoid. Though just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean people aren’t really out to get you.
I was going to quote some of your entry and follow it with, basically, “yeah! right on!” and then I realised I was actually preparing to c&p the entire entry. So I won’t except for this:
Actually, there are few issues that befuddle and anger me as much as the battle against gay marriage. That we have different classes of citizens (true as it is) makes me sick, that because of who you sleep with disqualifies from the benefits of what is supposed to be an egalitarian society. & What?s humorous (if not sickening) about the anti-gay-marriage homophobia is the idea that the ?institution? of marriage is ?under attack.? The “defense of marriage bill” and all that. Those of us fortunate to have been hitched a few years already realize we don?t need any help from gays and lesbians for our marriages to go careening off a cliff. We can handle that just fine ourselves
Yeah! Right on! The attack on gay marriage is a sad sorry sickening state of affairs. And now I must sit back and admire how you tied it into having to be miserable to produce great literature. Great entry.
I was going to quote some of your entry and follow it with, basically, “yeah! right on!” and then I realised I was actually preparing to c&p the entire entry. So I won’t except for this:
Actually, there are few issues that befuddle and anger me as much as the battle against gay marriage. That we have different classes of citizens (true as it is) makes me sick, that because of who you sleep with disqualifies from the benefits of what is supposed to be an egalitarian society. & What?s humorous (if not sickening) about the anti-gay-marriage homophobia is the idea that the ?institution? of marriage is ?under attack.? The “defense of marriage bill” and all that. Those of us fortunate to have been hitched a few years already realize we don?t need any help from gays and lesbians for our marriages to go careening off a cliff. We can handle that just fine ourselves
Yeah! Right on! The attack on gay marriage is a sad sorry sickening state of affairs. And now I must sit back and admire how you tied it into having to be miserable to produce great literature. Great entry.
Would you really want to read what a prom queen writes?
Would you really want to read what a prom queen writes?
Would you really want to read what a prom queen writes?
collin: you said in a non-ironic way what i said (less successfully) in an ironic way. it is about summoning angst, no matter what point at life one is. you have to have suffered in the past though…and restlessness is the fuel of many great works.
doublebagger: writing about happiness is all good and well, but it takes some serious skill to make great literature out of it. non-fiction is a different animal, methinks.
courtney: thank you for the kind words. it is a sorry world in which we reside, in so many areas, that i imagine i could have tied a million things to misery and literature other than gay marriage. except i couldn’t have tried to be funny about it.
mariemm3: i wouldn’t want to read what a prom queen writes, unless she were named “carrie.”
were you a prom queen?
collin: you said in a non-ironic way what i said (less successfully) in an ironic way. it is about summoning angst, no matter what point at life one is. you have to have suffered in the past though…and restlessness is the fuel of many great works.
doublebagger: writing about happiness is all good and well, but it takes some serious skill to make great literature out of it. non-fiction is a different animal, methinks.
collin: you said in a non-ironic way what i said (less successfully) in an ironic way. it is about summoning angst, no matter what point at life one is. you have to have suffered in the past though…and restlessness is the fuel of many great works.
doublebagger: writing about happiness is all good and well, but it takes some serious skill to make great literature out of it. non-fiction is a different animal, methinks.
courtney: thank you for the kind words. it is a sorry world in which we reside, in so many areas, that i imagine i could have tied a million things to misery and literature other than gay marriage. except i couldn’t have tried to be funny about it.
mariemm3: i wouldn’t want to read what a prom queen writes, unless she were named “carrie.”
were you a prom queen?
courtney: thank you for the kind words. it is a sorry world in which we reside, in so many areas, that i imagine i could have tied a million things to misery and literature other than gay marriage. except i couldn’t have tried to be funny about it.
mariemm3: i wouldn’t want to read what a prom queen writes, unless she were named “carrie.”
were you a prom queen?
My biggest fear is that if we begin to accept gay marriage as a norm, that means that Hollywood will just make a whole bunch of gay marriage sitcoms, simply updating old shows like “All in the Family,” but making Archie and Edith a gay couple.
My biggest fear is that if we begin to accept gay marriage as a norm, that means that Hollywood will just make a whole bunch of gay marriage sitcoms, simply updating old shows like “All in the Family,” but making Archie and Edith a gay couple.
My biggest fear is that if we begin to accept gay marriage as a norm, that means that Hollywood will just make a whole bunch of gay marriage sitcoms, simply updating old shows like “All in the Family,” but making Archie and Edith a gay couple.
neil: spoken like a good los angeleno.
neil: spoken like a good los angeleno.
neil: spoken like a good los angeleno.