  

4 Mdl’tll 3. MI

The Scarlet and Black

The Doppelt Effect

Far East Orientation

I experienced great disappointment
and rejection when my request to
accompany President Nixon to China
was rebuffed by his press secretary,
Ronald Ziegler.

As Grinnell correspondent to
Pravda, i expected to merit prime
consideration.

I can’t understand the rude reply I
received.

My letter was forthright but courte-
ous. I listed my qualifications which
included attending a "Symposium on

Modern China” on campus last year
and a passion {or Saga chop suey.

Then I mailed it to Chairman Niki—
son, Great White House, Washington,
D.C. I did forget the zip code,

That might have been it, They tend
to ”blow their Coolie” over such
ilagrant omissions.

Such setbacks never deter a pro—
lessional from covering the news.
My colleagues on CBS provided me
with the visuals tor my subsequent
un“press”edented report

President Niki—son solemnly
disembarked from his plant, the
“Spirit of America.” As he stepped
onto the platlorm, his eyes locused
on his welcoming committee.

However, the two Chinese were
looking the opposite direction.

As the American delegation de—
scended, a row at Chinese appeared
to the far left. The Americans filed
past the delegation and greeted each
member individually:

First came the President. followed
by his wife, her hairdresser, and
Henry Kissinger. The last person
who welcomed them was the Chinese
Premier.

It is traditional in international
circles to greet dignitaries with an
embrace and kisses on both cheeks.
However the Premier extended his
hand, The President later commen—
ted, “a handshake instead oi a
kiss."

“Mr. Lat, thank you for this gra—
cious welcome,” Nikirson was over
heard saying.

"Please call me Chou," the Pre
mier extended,

”0.1L, then Joe it is. lam curious
as to why you didn't say prease?"
asked our Chief Executioner.

“Ah, excruse me, I didn't mean
to conﬂuse you," apologized the
Premier.

This was an unexpectedly hospitar
hle welcome for a President that is

 

Sateen, (gems

not recognized by the Chinese gov
ernment, A Chinese government ot-
ficial explained the reason for this.

“We can not recognize your Presi-
dent because all Americans look
alike,”

The American entourage proceeded
to nearby automobiles where the
President was Offered his choice
in cars.

“I will take two from column A
and four from column B,” Nikirson
answered looking toward Kissinger
tor approval.

"1 don‘t think that was the proper
way to respond, sir. Please re»
member not to mention a good place
to clean your shirts," Kissinger
advised.

“0’ Henry,” the President Said.

The President then entered a lie
mousine with drapes.covering all
the windows, That made it very
tough on the chauffeur, who told
the President that he had never
driven before. He said that he was
accustomed to pulling from the front
since he spent [lye weeks touring
with "I Spy"

The limosine preceded down "Road
to the Airport" street. The name is
an accurate indication of the back—
wardness oi the country.

The President pointed out to a
Chinese official how our streets
bear significant meaning and im-
mortalize great human beings. He
gave such examples as 1st Street,
2nd Street, 63rd Street, Main Street
and State Street.

Mr. Nikirson commented that the
streets appeared unusually deserted
in the presence of a ioreign dignir
tary

The oiiicial gave him a long slanty-
eyed stare and advised that it might
help it he pulled down the drapes.

The President described what it
was like in the United States when
an oiiicial motorcade drove by.

“The people in the streets would
wave and cheer at the speeding
car. They lined the streets rows deep
and frequently iought just to get a
glimpse of the motorcade, That’s
the beauty of a democracy; every
person can pursue happiness in his
own way.”

As the entourage entered the inner
portions of Peking, the official re—
minded the President of his antici-
pated meeting with Chairman Man.

“I am most anxious to meet with
Mr. Dung,” the President said.

 

‘Slttilt’ Is Worth A Dollar

For those Still interested in Alfred
Hitchcock despite Topaz, one oi his
greats is on the educational channel
tonight at 7:30. Made in England in
1935, The Thirty»Nine steps con
cerns a man who is mysteriously
linked with a murder and must llee
both the police and the murderers
while trying to unravel the threads
at an espionage plot. Robert Dnnat
plays one of Hitchcock's most sucr
cessful heroes in a iinely polished
production. The humor and excite-
ment are genuine and the him is
quite enjoyable to watch. The inter-
view following the film should also
be worthwhile.

Anyone approaching The Gene
Krupn stnry with more than a jag in
mind had better reconsider. The high
point ol this film occurs when
Krupa’s career is ruined because he
is busted for the possession ofa few
“reefers" (which he of course
claims were planted by Federal
agents): Sal Mineo’s performance
rivals Howdy-Doody at his best.
The Little Kidnappers is new to me
so I cannot comment.

As for the Strand Special, Shaft
is definitely Worth a dollar. It is by

  

 

snail is an example ot Hollywood
thinking at its best. It is aimed at
cashing in on the large potential
black audience, but it is not ”black"
enough to drive on the even larger
mass oi whites. It hasjust enough
sex, just enough violence, and Just
enough proiauity to be on top oi the
latest trends, yet it never goes so
tar with any of these things as to
endanger an “X“ rating John Shaft
is a detective in the Sam Space (no
pun) tradition; he ignores bullet
wounds, cracked ribs, and the New
York Police to Crash through wins
(lows and shoot large holes in the
enemy. Yet the problems of reconr
cillng his super blackman character
with the demands of the “system”
(in the form of his private delec—
tive's license and gun permit) are
resolved ambiguously

The cast is disappointing Richard
Roundtree’s acting is based solely
on changes of facial expression and
costume, Moses Gunn, an actor of
considerable skill, grumbles a lot
Charles ctoiie (you may remember
him as the murderer in Klute) plays
the Lt. Jacobi role from Peter Gunn
with little new inspiration. The film

 

To the Editors:

In the recent SdtB literary suppler

ment, a proiusion oi views and atti-
tudes about poetry and writing were
trumpeted torth in great serious-
ness, and in great seriousness they
must he considered. It seems to me
that these attitudes present, or
represent, a grave threat to poetry
as it is studied, and to poetry as l,
tor one, try to write it, Apparently
my ideas about writing are as un-
fashionable as the kinds of poems
that l write. Yet I must speak out
and try to detend my position from
the attack implicit in current popular
attitudes.

From the headline of the first page
of the literary supplement, ”Grin»
nell's Literary Craftsmen,” one is
led to believe that the ideas express
sed will in some way concern poetry
as a cralt Unlortunately, that was
not the case. I found two kinds of
ideas expressed in both that article
and the poems themselves. First,
there is the attitude that poetry
serves as the emotional outlet for
selfrcontained people who have no
other immediate means of making
their teelings known. Then, also,
there is the attitude that poetry is a
physical reﬂection of a spontaneous
creation that occurs in the mind/
heart/other—vital-organs of the
poet. It’s a sort of birth without
labor pains, and certainly without
pregnancy at any duration. The au-
thor of the article says at one point
that what his subjects have said
about their writing “explodes the
myth that poets live in a selfrcreated
but impractical dream world.”

It seems to me that the myth not
only has not beeniexploded, but ‘it
has hardly been touched Both ofthe
above attitudes involve the poet at
the center ofpersonally created ten-
sions which burst to resolution in
waves or words, in descriptions oi
visions, in cathartic contessions, or
in vocal exercises, But always, the
emphasis is on the self ofthe writer,
his consciousness, his position, to
use the popular Romantic metaphor,
as Aeolian lyre moved to music by

Editor Chosen

Don Dagenais has been select-
ed as editor of the 1972-73
Scarlet and Black, the Come
mittee on Student Publications
and Radio announced Wedness
day.

Dagenais, a junior, is present-
ly copy editor oi the son and
has served as the Student Ger
vernment Association reporte
er in previous years. ' His
major is economics.

“Concentration on a more
journalistic style oi writing”
is Dagennis’ major plan iornext
year’s paper, He hopes to in»
stitute a policy ot educating
5&5 reporters in the nature oi
journalistic writing and to ex
paud coverage at campus news
events in the hopes of making
stories “more than Just the
minutes of committee meetv
ings,”

Stories will be oriented more
toward student activities than
towards taculty or administrar
tiDn activities. During the first
semester, oagenals plans to re-
search graduate schools, pars
ticulariy those in medicine and
law, by writing recent Grinnell
graduates now attending those
schools who should have current
perspectives on His quality oi
graduate education.

   

  
   
      
 
 
 
 
   
   
    
  
 
    
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

Mayrenl: Poelty Comes From Sell
Nasser Relracls Hasty Comment

Middleton Corrects Comment
Homosexuality A Valid tile Style

gales of poetic inspiration In all of
this, where is there room for the
concept oi poetry as art?

Poems do not write themselves. If
anyone had said that to Dylan
Thomas, who labored whole weeks to
pertect a iew lines, the poet would
have laughed himseli sick. Poetry,
if it is to be anything more than
spiritual ejaculation, must be care-
iully craited. A poem is, above all,
a thing that is wrought. Apoet should
be the master of all the tools and
techniques oi his art, even ifhe only
ends by discarding them all; e, E.
Cummings was a thorough master of
all the classical forms before he
ever attempted typographical exper-
iments. His poetry, like that ol so
many early twentiethrcentury wrir
lers, is based on extreme linguistic
and rhythmic precision. Syntax is no
accident

I am not denying the importance of
poetic voice and vision, Without
them, a poet would have nothing to
then, a poet would have nothing to
say and no way to make what he did
say his own. I don’t believe that
there is any way ior someone to
write well about Something he has
never lelt or experienced. Yet, as
Wordsworth said, the ieelings that
produce, or result in, poetry must
be written about in tranquility, from
a distance oi time and reflection;
poetry is not merely the overilowing
of an exuberant or melancholy or
angry mood. Poetry is art.

I can't prescribe any formula for
poetry, nor can i impose my own
beliels on anyone else who writes.
However, I can try to suggest that
perhaps some careiul attention
should be given to this question. Dbr
viously, poetry is important, it not
essential, to a whole lot of people.
But the way in which it must be imr
portant to keep itself Vital as a lit-
erary iorm is what must be deter-
mined; whether poetry is to be an
individual experience, or one which
can in some way synthesize that
individual experience with some sort
of existence outside that of the ins
dividual himself.

Sherry Mnyrent

To the Editors:
In Jack Doppelt’s article of last
week on the subject at the non-
renewal ol‘ my contract, I was col“—
rectly quoted as saying that the
Philosophy Department ”is worried
about postr5th century views on
philosophy.” i must apologize for
this uncharitable remark. It was
made in haste and does not reflect
my estimation oi the competence
and personal qualities of colleagues.

Alan G, Nasser.

Instructor of Philosophy

To the Editors:

I wish to correct a statement which
was attributed to me in the last issue.
On page seven, 1 was quoted as say-
ing that “the Philosophy department
believes that ‘you can’t be a good
teacher and a good Marxist at the
same time ’ ” That is not whatl
said. All that I did Say was that,
as well as i could remember, an are
gument of that sort was utilized in
the department’s first recommenda-
tion on the subject of Mr. Nasser's

Th , G -' ll
chl'lcrllglrl‘g Black

Grinncll College Grlmell, lewd so“:

Co'cdiinrs
w.» Gr-M mi iuti diam,n

Armani: Editor
in" u,.a»

copy saucy

recontracting. At the time Mr Dope
pelt interviewed me, I had not seen
the letter for over two months.

I do not profess to know whether
or not the department as a whole
considers the argument (which ap~
pears above the statement in queSr
thn) sound, nor do I wish anyone to
think that I consider it Sound,

I should also like to note that, as
far as i can tell, this argument is
not central to the department's res
servations concerning Mr Nasser.
That is why i said elsewhere in the
article that I did not believe their
recommendation was based on poli-
tlcal considerations.

Kerry Middleton

To the Editors:

in response (tor lack oi a better
phrase) to the letter printed in last
week’s issue, “Seeks Concern for
Homosexuals" I would like to say
that I am glad someone had the cour-
age to write such a letter. lagree
with the writer of the letter on many
points, especially his choice not to
sign his name to the letter. Grin-
nellians tend to react strongly to
things, ideas, and people that they
find they Cannot or will not under-
stand.

I believe Homosexuality is a valid
and, more important i think, viable
way oi lite, and the sooner more peo—
ple stop acting as it it is some cone
tageous disease, the better things
may become.

Loneliness is a part of life, some
people may arguerrbut as far as the
Heterosexual people on this campus
(or any place else, for that matter)
are‘concern‘ed, it doesn’t have to bea
major part of their lives. Imean
there are plenty of girls on this
campus for us to choose irom, But,
imagine a lite where there was not
the slightest chance—-or maybe a
very, VERY limited possibility of
finding someone to comfortably res
late to....Grinnell, under those cira
cumstances, would be a rather dis-
mal experience.

I feel that it's not only up to the
Homosexuals on Grinnell Campus to
organize and help eleviate some, ii
not all of their problems, but it is
also up to the rest oi us onthis came
pus who feel that no matter what,
Homosexual, Heterosexual, Bi-
sexual or whatever, people arepeo-
ple and they all have the samebasic
rights.

Some people may argue that they
feel threatened by Homosexuality,
whether male or female; maybe they
should sit down and give some
thought as to why they teel that way.

As tar as i am concerned, and i
realize that I am sticking my neck
out, I agree with the writer oI“Con-
earn” and I hope that this is just the
start of many letters lothe 5&3, both
Pro 5!. Con. I also hope that some
kind at organization can be achieved
that will start work on some of the
problems that were mentioned in
“Concern", and l, tor one, would
like to help if I can
Again, my congratulations to the
writer of the letter 7 a person with
the courage to know how to search
for a solution to a problem and the
sense to realize and avoid unneces-
sary consequences,

duane taylor

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does not show the understanding oi
the detective genre that is displayed
in Dirty Harry or The French Con-
nection, but in its own way it suc-
ceeds as what Pauline Kael would
call “good trash”. This is a movie
that should be seen and enjoyed tor
its entertainment value without re-
gard for the art oi the iilm

no means a good movie, but it is more
entertaining than most of the iilms
released these days. The production
technique can best be described as
“showy-functional”, the type of dis
rection television series employ
when they want a “new" look Still,
here is enough action to hold the
udience.

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The small iormat magazine
supplements begunthis seniese
ter will be continued next year,
be said, with a concentration
on magazine layout such as that
used by Sunday magazines in
commercial papers

 

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