The American Dissident
A Journal of Literature, Democracy, & Dissidence
A Forum for Vigorous Debate, Cornerstone of Democracy,
And for Examining the Dark Side of the Academic/Literary Established-Order Milieu


Rogues of the Month

An Established-Order Academic/Literary Rogue's Gallery
Of Enemies of Vigorous Debate, Cornerstone of Democracy

We have become intolerably tired of scolding the rogues and dunces of this village to no purpose. The more shrilly we clamor against them the more irreclaimable they become. It has just dawned upon us in the light of a revelation, that mere verbal satire is a delusion and a cheat—that the battles of intellect are waged with stuffed clubs—that the pen is not only less mighty than the sword, but is even inferior to a well-wielded hand-saw...

        Ambrose Bierce

P. Maudit, the cartoonist sobriquet of the editor, was autodidactically born in 1998 to illustrate The American Dissident, eventually became a paid feature on another website, and was almost hired by the academic publication Adjunct Advocate (see Literary Corruption for an account of that confrontation). Whenever possible, the editor informs the individuals criticized in the satirical cartoons to hopefully foment, what academics and established-order literati detest most:  free speech and vigorous debate. The responses received are included below and elsewhere. When real persons are depicted, the dialogue in P. Maudit's cartoons is not fabricated but obtained via email correspondence or from magazines and books.  (Click on the image to make it larger.)


February 2008—John Amen, Editor, Pedestal Magazine.  For more on John's odd vision of democracy, see also www.theamericandissident.org/BookReviews-BestAmericanPoetry2007.htm

September 2007—Dr. Encarna Abella, Grambling State University (Grambling, LA), Stasi-like informant

August 2007—Gary Snyder, Academy of American Poets Chancellor


July 2007—Christine Klocek-Lim, Site
Censor for the Academy of American Poets










July 2007—Prof. Cary Nelson,
Pres. of Amer. Assoc. Univ. Profs.
 








June 2007—American Studies Prof.
Lori Pierce (DePaul University)

May 2007—The Professor as
university PR man.  Dr. John Knesel,
University of Louisiana at Monroe

April 2007—English Professor William
Pannapacker, Hope College (WI)
 

March 2007—English Professor
William Ryan, Editor of Turnrow
(University of Louisiana at Monroe)

Februrary 2007
—Ian Thal, mime,
critic, poet, ex-member of the
board of directors, Stone Soup Poets,
Cambridge, MA (see Thal's comments
regarding this cartoon)

January 2007—All Things Not Considered: 
Andrei Codrescu and Lawrence Ferlinghetti 
(See the lengthy email battle this cartoon
provoked between Ian Thal of Ibbetson
Press and the editor).

December 2006—Dan Latimer and
Virginia Kouidis, Southern Humanities
Review
 
 

 


November 2006—see Casey and Denise Hill, NewPages.com


October 2006—Poet Laureate Hall
 

September 2006—Jack Hirschman
 


August 2006—Therese Eiben, Suzanne Pettypiece, and Kevin Larimer, Senior Editor, Poets & Writers magazine CENSORS

August 2006—Kevin Larimer, Senior Editor, Poets & Writers magazine
 

July 2006—Guggenheim Fellow,
Cole Swensen, and JonThompson
 

June 2006—see Denis Dutton & Tran Huu Dung
 

May 2006—Jack Powers & Stone Soup Poets

April 2006—Lyn Lifshin & Laura Stamps

March 2006—Harold Bloom

January—Dana Goodyear

December—Landis Everson
 

November—J. D. McClatchy
 

October—Flux Factory

September—John Thomas

August—Professor Derek D. Turner

July
—Professor Gerald Locklin
 

June
—Martin Espada & Robert Creeley

May
—John W. Barr

April—Doug Holder

March—Michael Dirda, Pulitzer Prize for Criticism

 

 

Comments from the Lampooned
 

From:  "Tran Huu Dung" <tran.dung@wright.edu
To:  "'George Slone'" <todslone@yahoo.com>, constant.force@netaccess.co.nz

Subject:  RE: Cartoon of the Month
Date:  Sat, 3 Jun 2006 10:56:52 -0400
 

Omigod!  I’ve died and go to heavens!

An unbelievable honor!  Many, many many many thanks!

Sincerely,

Tran Huu Dung
Managing Editor
Arts & Letters Daily
http://www.aldaily.com

 

[N.B.:  Dutton and Dung refuse to list The American Dissident next to other lit journals listed on its site.  I queried The Chronicle of Higher Education, which hosts D&D's page, as to why some lit journals were permitted on the site, while others prohibited, and received a lame answer from Jeanne Ferris, Senior Editor, The Chronicle Review, which was surprising since I didn't expect a response at all:   "The Chronicle owns Arts & Letters Daily, but they are pretty much separate from The Chronicle of Higher Education, and completely separate from The Chronicle Review, the opinion section where I work, so I can't comment about Arts & Letters Daily."

 

...................................................................................................................................................................

From:  "Doug HOLDER" <ibbetsonpress@msn.com>
To: 
todslone@yahoo.com
Subject:  Hi Tod!
Date:  Sat, 20 May 2006 16:24:29 -0400

Loved that cartoon of me, "I" am going to send it around  you are a very talented young man!
Doug Holder
http://www.ibbetsonpress.com

 
From: 
todslone@yahoo.com
To:  "Doug HOLDER" <
ibbetsonpress@msn.com>
Subject:  Hi Tod!
Date:  Sat, 20 May 2006 13:42:38 -0700 (PDT)

Hi Doug,
Well, I'm not that young!  I'm probably older than you.  Keep in mind there is no hatred whatsoever in my heart for anyone.  I am simply a critic in the vein of say Pope, Swift, and Byron. 
Sincerely,
G. Tod



From:  "Doug HOLDER" <
ibbetsonpress@msn.com>
To: 
todslone@yahoo.com
Subject:  Hi Tod!
Date:  Sat, 20 May 2006 16:49:50 -0400


Tod it is an honor to be dissed by you  you habe been on my rear for many years now!



From: 
todslone@yahoo.com
To:  "Doug HOLDER" <
ibbetsonpress@msn.com>
Subject:  Hi Tod!
Date:  Sat, 20 May 2006 14:29:37 -0700 (PDT)


Doug,
Well, I'm always open to debate.  "Diss" of course is a pejorative term for valid critique. 
T.

From:  todslone@yahoo.com
To:  "Doug HOLDER" <
ibbetsonpress@msn.com>
Subject:  Thank you
Date: 
Thu, 8 Jun 2006 15:24:51 -0700 (PDT)

Hi Doug,
A friend of mine informed me that you mentioned The American Dissident in your newsletter and sent me a copy.  Many thanks.  I shall note your unusual openness (unusual for a poet!) on the cartoon page.  Much appreciated. 
Sincerely,
G. Tod

PS:  You might wish to tell Jack Powers that he was lampooned last month. 

..................................................................................................................................................................
Date:  Sat, 1 Oct 2005 12:44:34 -0700 (PDT)
From:  "George Slone" <todslone@yahoo.com>
Subj:  Cartoon of the Month: Flux Factory
To:  info@fluxfactory.org

Dear Flux Factory:
This email is to inform you that Flux Factory is the subject of The American Dissident Cartoon of the Month of October.  You may view the cartoon and even comment on it by consulting The AD webpage
www.theamericandissident.org.  Hey, how about exchanging links? 
Sincerely,
G. Tod Slone, editor
The American Dissident
 

Subj:  Cartoon of the Month: Flux Factory
From:  "info@fluxfactory.org" <info@fluxfactory.org>
To:  "George Slone" <todslone@yahoo.com>
CC:  "Aya Kakeda" <akakeda@aol.com>, "Jean Barberis" <jean@fluxfactory.org>, "kerry downey" <kerry@fluxfactory.org>, "Morgan Meis" <morgan@fluxfactory.org>, "Seb Santamaria" <sebastien@fluxfactory.org>, nick@geekathon.net, "FLUX-HOUSE" <house@fluxfactory.org>

Hi George,
Thanks for letting us know. I have to admit that I’m not sure I understand the critique put forth in this cartoon, but certainly thank you for thinking of us. We are quite flattered. Your publication looks interesting.
Warm regards,
Stefany
--
Stefany Anne Golberg
Executive Director
Flux Factory, Inc.
http://www.fluxfactory.org
718-707-3362

 

ALL MATERIAL ON THIS SITE IS COPYRIGHT ©G. Tod Slone, 2008, The American Dissident www.theamericandissident.org.