THE LANCE
Official Publication of the Student Body of St. Andrews Presbyterian Colleg
VOL. 13 NO. 10
ST. ANDREWS PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, LAURINBURG N.C
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21,1974
Dorn, Duberman Address SA
The Black Mountain
Festival continued last week
with historian Martin Duber
man presenting a series of
talks and question-and-answer
periods to the school on Thur
sday and Friday. Duberman
authored the best and most
complete accoimt of Black
Mountain College in his book
“Black Mountain: An Ex
ploration in Community”.
However, his visit provided in
sight into a good deal more
than a summary of factual
data about Black Mountain.
He spoke on subjects ranging
from sexuality to his theory of
writing history. A new book
upon which he is working will
be called “Sex and Society”
and will be the history of
sexuality and sex roles in
America.
Duberman is an individual
very much concerned with the
established hierarchies and
established power which he
sees as dominating our
society. This hierarchy and
power is the creation of the in
tolerant heterosexual white
male, as he sees it, which ex
plains why women, blacks,
Ed Dorn:
Verbal Wit
Edward Dorn, Black Moun
tain poet, stood before the St.
Andrews Community last
Wednesday in dungarees and
hand-sewn boots. The bright
ness of his eyes and rhinestone
button vest was harmonious
with his rustic, weather-worn
face and humor. Although his
poetry centered a great deal
on the West he is not native to
that part of the country. He
was bom in 1929 in Villa
Grove, Illinois, educated at
the University of Illinois and
“somewhat corrected at
Black Mountain College.”
Dorn was a student and still
is friends with Charles Olson
and Robert Creeley. It was for
Dorn that Olson compiled his
pamphlet “Bibliography” for
Ed Dorn about prehistoric
times, myths, and terrain.
They share an intense interest
in geography. Dorn’s book,
“Geography” published in
1965 is dedicated to Olson.
“Gunslinger”, which is Dorn’s
large-scale work is similar to
the technique of Olson’s
“Maximus Poems”. Both
poets are concerned with a
whole or a total image but
Dorn is much more clear; less
recondite, than Olson. There
are two apparent sides to
Dorn; his dry humor and the
historical relating of direct ex
perience which is more ser
ious and profound.
The reading Wednesday
night was divided into these
two parts although there was
still interweaving of the two.
Among the intricate lines of
Dorn’s face was the downward
turn of his lips which
•and members of the gay
liberation movement are
questioning their positions in
society, which are subor
dinate. A professed
homosexual, he sees the social
structures and taboos of our
society as inhibiting natural,
normal bisexuality which he
believes is present in
everyone. “Beware of the ex
perts,” Duberman warned
during his lecture Friday
evening, referring to psycho
analysts in particular, with
their models of what eve^one
should be like. “Stop trying to
be something you’re not and
putting people in categories.
The varieties in people will be
exciting to see.” In order for
people to be what they really
are, Duberman sighted the
importance of a closeness bet
ween people; a conmiunity
thought, in which individuals
can openly talk to others about
who and what they are.
“Black Mountain: An Ex
ploration in Community” has
been described as being in
“bad taste” and being inap
propriate “exhibitionism”.
Du^rman was accused of
misusing history and factual
data in order to exhibit him
self. It was in the book that he
Dublicly recognized his
homosexuality, after a great
deal of questioning the
wisdom of such a move.
Two of the first three
critical reviews he read about
his book were positive, the
other strongly negative. The
negative one mentioned his
homosexuality; the positive
two did not. Psychologically
rough days were ahead, for he
worried about his career as a
result of some of the harsh
criticism he had received. He
felt as though he was being
labelled a “talentless queer”,
the combination of which he
found totally unacceptable.
Duberman is now beginning to
write once again and his
theory of historical writing,
making the writer noticeably
present in his work, will be
used as it was in the Black
Mountain book.
As Duberman sees it, there
are two main factors in
historical writing: the factual
data and the author himself.
Rather than attempting to
make history third person
descriptive, as it traditionally
ironically gave the ap
pearance of a smile
suggesting symbolically the
integration of a humorous and
series tone in each word.
Among the earlier poems of
Dorn are examples of his ver
bal wit. One of these is ‘ The
Hide of My Mother” in which
he says “My mother, who has
a hide/ on several occasions
remarked what/a nice rug or
robe/my young kids would
make,/Would we send them to
her?/When we had them but
chered?/.” In the reading
Dorn evidenced his humor in
various ways, one of which
was his comment about
America, “Isn’t it marvelous.
Corruption saves us again. In
America nothing goes to
W3StG«^*
Dorn prefaced a poem by
saying it was a long, extended
metaphor and in a sense
“tested its tensUe strength.
It is interesting to note that
Fuller was intrigued by tensile
strengths of metal and did
various experiments with
them. Later in this same poem
Dorn referred to the charac
ter’s head as a “pyramid, the
minimum solid.” The triangle
is important to Fuller as the
smallest, yet strongest area.
After a brief intermission,
Dom read “Recollections of
Grand Apacheria”, His new
book which will be coming out
in a few months from Turtle
Island Press. Dom interwove
history, legend, present and
the particulars of experience
in one extended poem. He ex
pressed the nobility, the
savagery and the strength of
the Apaches. It was apparent
that they were misunderstood
in the past as well as now by
the “white Tom Mixes”. “One
cannot have a part of what is
indivisible. This is Apache
policy, yet for us it is only a
philosophical implication.
There was a captivating
rhythm in Dom’s voice as he
read which at certain points
almost seemed a reflection of
Indian rhythms.
Edward Dom has taught at
Idaho State University at
Pocatello and State University
of New York at Buffalo. From
1965 to 1968 he was visiting
Continued to Page 2
is, he sees the need for the
historian to give more of him
self to his readers. In their
“conversations with those of
the past”, historians should
record not only the facts of the
conversation but their own
reactions. They should include
in their works the human ex
perience of the actual in
vestigation and writing. The
result of this in Duberman’s
eyes would be a much more
meaningful experience for the
reader; one which he can feel,
not merely read.
Duberman spoke of
education in America and the
absense of a community
feeling in our educational in
stitutions. “Most of the in
novation that was going on in
education happened in the late
60’s. . .1 think most of the in
novations, if they’re going to
work, must be made on a
much lower level. By the time
we get to a university, our at
titudes are so well formed that
they can’t really be changed.”
(Continued to Page 2)
Admissions Office
Shaken Up
As follow up to President
Hart’s address to the students
before Christmas, the “Lan
ce” staff has investigated dif
ferent areas of the college for
continuing information on cut
backs, etc. From discussions
with Everett Gourley, Jean
Raybum, Elaine Liles, and
Allan Smyth the situation of
the Admissions Office is as
follows.
David Chestnut and Jim
Perrin, the two junior coun
selors are gone now. The
general rationalization in the
office was that although St.
Andrews has always kept year
round junior counselors this is
not what most colleges do.
Neither of these 2 employees
had received contracts this
year which used to be the
usual procedure. Apparently
there are quite a few em
ployees without contracts. The
majority of recruitment done
in January was by two
professors, Sommerville and
Valentine and several studen
ts: John Robinson, Steve
Chasson, Paul Finger, Phil
Bradley and John Gillingham.
There has been little
significant change in ap
proach or technique in the Ad
missions Policy, although this
year there was a great deal
more correspondence, phone
contact, and follow-up work
done. Also the St. Andrews
film was shown on several net
works in North Carolina. It
seems that in this time with so
many colleges and univer
sities desperate about at
tracting students that it is im
perative to reaffirm students
who have already made ap
plication. Even though our ad
missions counselors have
always gone to private, public,
community colleges (junior)
and preparatory schools,
there has been a slight shift of
emphasis from private and
prep to junior and public.
Rayburn and Liles were on the
(Continued to Page 3)
SENIORS
We are pleased to announce
that Stewart Brand will give
the commencement address
at the graduation exercise on
May 26, 1974. He is the past
editor of the now discontinued
Whole Earth Catalogue, and is
currently residing in Califor
nia. His visit here will be his
first retum to North Carolina
in 13 years and he is eagerly
anticipating the event.
Stevie Daniels
Tom Patterson
Dennis Sharpe