Vanity Apologetics
for release 04-25-08
Dallas, Texas
by Lightning Rod
After watching the umpteenth version of cable TV incest where one anchorperson will interview another anchorperson, I have decided to get on the bandwagon and write a column about my column.
The Poet's Eye has been appearing regularly on the internet for the past five years. For the first four years, I wrote it religiously two times a week. But eventually I came to the realization that nobody was paying me for this. So now I do it whenever the fuck I feel like it. And I say anything I want to say.
Since I have been writing The Poet's Eye, my two greatest mentors and heroes have passed: Hunter S. Thompson and Molly Ivins. They represented the tradition of journalism that I hope to continue. It is an immediate and involved journalism that doesn't exclude the observer. It is a journalism that doesn't pretend to be objective but hopefully it is universal.
As I often say, "The Poet's Eye is for entertainment purposes only." I'm not trying to push any agenda. I'm not a liberal or a conservative. I'm not even an independent. I have no party, I can't even vote. My purpose is not to instruct or to convince. My purpose is to entertain and to perhaps provide some food for thought.
Although The Poet's Eye often looks at current events, I try to connect the ephemeral to the timeless whenever possible. What is possible? That depends on our imaginations, doesn't it?
The whole concept of The Poet's Eye is to offer a perspective on the world from the viewpoint of the ultimate outsider, the poet. I'm not working for anyone. I'm not paid by corporations or lobbyists. I have no political affiliation. I'm a renegade. I don't owe nobody nothing. I use foul language sometimes. I don't care. Oh yes, I care, but I don't care what anybody thinks about what I say because I will say anything just to hear myself talk.
Which brings us back to entertainment. Entertainment is a little sparkle in your mind or a little tickle in your heart. It's something that amuses you. That's what The Poet's Eye hopes to do. I thank you for your feedback and for continuing to take a glimpse through The Poet's Eye.
I celebrate myself, and sing myself,
And what I assume you shall assume,
For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.
--Whitman
