Claire Rudy Foster

Below the cartoon is the email sent by Foster in total outrage over the cartoon I drew on Chen Chen, poet of the establishment, anointed by the establishment as one of "10 Poets Who Will Change the World."  Now, how not to satirize that?!  The email of course inspired me to sketch the cartoon below.  I am well aware that in the very near future, such a cartoon will be prohibited and result in a fine or even incarceration.  And of course in that Brave New World, the Fosters will finally be happy.  

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From: Foster <claire.rudy.foster@gmail.com>

Sent: Tuesday, November 17, 2020 5:25 PM

To: todslone@hotmail.com <todslone@hotmail.com>

Subject: American Dissident

 

Hi Tod,

It's been brought to my attention that you disseminated a racist cartoon of a friend of mine to my friend and his colleagues at Brandeis. Apparently you are offended by my friend's presence in academia and his recent essay about universality. Your bizarre, groundless comments about "Community Chinese apparatchiks" is racist and vile. You should be ashamed of yourself for pursuing such a low and valueless line of thought. You are quick to tout your PhD, but with actions like these, one wonders how smart you really are.

Your immature little prank is not criticism, satire, or humor. You aren't funny. In addition to being in bad taste, your harassment of my friend calls your intellect into question. You are not a rebel; you represent a vast and disgusting demographic of half-baked, armchair brains who think it's "edgy" to perpetuate xenophobic and homophobic stereotypes. Punching down just to get a reaction is a cheap move: any bully can do it. If that's the only way you know how to get attention, I feel really sorry for you. Maybe if you put that energy into crafting an original thought, you'd come up with something worthwhile? 

I am glad that my friend has taken steps to protect himself. I am not a member of the academic establishment, nor do I have a reputation to preserve, so I feel fine telling you to go fuck yourself.

Go fuck yourself.

Sincerely,

Foster

Chen Chen

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Chen is a master of the fine art of THE BRILLIANCE OF GIBBERISH, as featured in the above cartoon sketched in 2018.  In the latest P$W mag, Chen is again featured.  I've cartooned so many career poets like him/her over the past few decades that I'd forgotten I'd already cartooned him.  Thus, I did a search and bingo, there (here) he/she was.  Since there are so many, many INANE/INNOCUOUS POETASTERS featured in P&W, I try not to sketch the same one twice.  Chen tempted me, but I resisted.  For Chen's endless identity politics hate-whitey tirade, see https://www.pw.org/content/craft_capsule_against_universality_in_praise_of_anger.  #29 is a good example:  "I’d like white writers to get angrier. Why did so few of my white grad school classmates speak out? Some of my Asian American peers could get angrier too. About racism. About who still gets left out of Asian American spaces. About anti-Blackness in Asian America."  

Now, why doesn't Chen Chen express a little anger at all the hands feeding his/her dainty fingers, including P$W, Academy of American Poets, and Brandeis University?  He/she is poet-in-residence at the latter.  So, why doesn't he/she do that?  The answer is simple:  Chen Chen is a flaming hypocrite in pants or skirt!