Fighting among poets. * appeared in the Cambridge Chronicle and Spare Change News.

During a really bad day at work, I snapped at a client, when he made a very reasonable request. A co-worker, commented: " I am surprised Doug.. aren't you a sensitive poet.?" Well, he was half-sarcastic, but there was a kernel of truth there. Poets, rightly or wrongly, have been held to a higher standard than the mass of mere mortals. I hate to inform you, we don't cut it. These poetry wars we see in Cambridge, (slammers vs spoken word, etc...), are just a microcosm of what's happening in the poetry world, and the world at large. I love the small press poetry orbit, but its full of backstabbing, pettiness, and cliques. Oh... I have my stories. I recall the time a well-known Cambridge/academic/reading series host referred to me as "landfill", and arrogantly started to do the introduction for my press's reading before people were seated. Take, the well-known Cambridge bookstore owner
who told me that the poets I publish and promote are like the patients I work with ( I work at a psych. hospital). I have been called a hack, a piker, a second-rater, and a host of other things. And baby...I am still here! One thing I hope the poets don't forget is the "poem." That is what it is all about, the rest is secondary. But most of all, this motley crew of slammers, performance artists, hucksters, whatever, are a fascinating mix of characters. I have met many on the scene, and there is never a dull moment. In this oh-so-ironic age, they have what many lack-passion. They may hate each others' guts,
make no money at all, but damn it they keep on trucking!Remember, the Republic of Cambridge has been known for its colorful milieu of personalities, from either side of the tracks. God forbid we become another staid suburb of Boston. Let the wars rage, but let there be no dying of the light.

Doug Holder * appeared in the Cambridge Chronicle, and Spare Change.