Poetry, terror and political narcissism
by Alyssa A. Lappen
The American Thinker


Poetry is a window on the human soul. But the politics of American poetry, in recent years have veered into more and more radical territory, as an increasing number of poets openly declare their allegiance with ‘Palestine,' and implicitly, with terror. Academics with one foot in Middle Eastern Studies and another in literature and poetry are the prime conduits of this degrading development. A few names that come to mind are Tom Paulin, a literature lecturer at Oxford University, former New Jersey poet laureate Amiri Baraka, Marylin Hacker, and Alicia Ostriker at Rutgers University.

A prime example is Ammiel Alcalay, a tenured professor and former chair of Classical, Middle Eastern and Asian Languages and Cultures at City University of New York's Queens College. The author, editor or translator of at least nine literary, essay and poetry volumes, Alcalay has established himself as a fixture on the college speaking and poetry circuits, both realms that he vigorously exploits to disseminate sharply anti-American, anti-Israel and pro-Palestine views.