An Open Letter from the Only Poet on the Professor’s Watchlist* -February 13, 2017

When my name appeared on the noxious Professor’s Watchlist–a McCarthyist attempt to shame professors who speak out about social justice–I set aside some precious break time to write a reply. Not only is my entry on the list factually inaccurate, it is intimidation masquerading as public service.

Many thanks to the Kenyon Review for giving me the platform to respond to the Watchlist and to Poetry‘s Harriet blog for reposting it last month.

Also: my apologies to Ken McClane, the other poet on the Watchlist, whom I only recognized as a poet when Sandra McPherson brought him to my attention in a comment to my essay. For more on this see the comments section.

I retain my original blog post title above, with an asterisk to mark the correction.