ON HAROLD NORSE

I'm Not a Man

I'm not a man, I can't earn a living, buy new things for my family.
I have acne and a small peter.

I'm not a man. I don't like football, boxing and cars.
I like to express my feeling. I even like to put an arm
around my friend's shoulder.

I'm not a man. I won't play the role assigned to me- the role created
by Madison Avenue, Playboy, Hollywood and Oliver Cromwell,
Television does not dictate my behavior.

I'm not a man. Once when I shot a squirrel I swore that I would
never kill again. I gave up meat. The sight of blood makes me sick.
I like flowers.

I'm not a man. I went to prison resisting the draft. I do not fight
when real men beat me up and call me queer. I dislike violence.

I'm not a man. I have never raped a woman. I don't hate blacks.
I do not get emotional when the flag is waved. I do not think I should
love America or leave it. I think I should laugh at it.

I'm not a man. I have never had the clap.
I'm not a man. Playboy is not my favorite magazine.

I'm not a man. I cry when I'm unhappy.

I'm not a man. I do not feel superior to women

I'm not a man. I don't wear a jockstrap.

I'm not a man. I write poetry.

I'm not a man. I meditate on peace and love.

I'm not a man. I don't want to destroy you

San Francisco, 1972

Harold Norse
July 6, 1916 - June 8, 2009


Recent note from Bersone:

Harold Norse died a few days ago. I remember attending a reading of Stanley Kunitz with him and Erika, during which Kunitz soared. After the reading people gathered at the White Horse Tavern where he was staying, modeled after an English pub, cozy with rich wood and softening plaster walls. Robert Bly was there, and I remember him saying to Kunitz, “you really knocked ‘em out!” said in a kind of contemptuous, competitive way, unfortunately typical of disenfranchised groups such as poets. I remember Kunitz, who had never overcome his feeling of being an outsider, despite his success, took no notice of Bly, but was gently and sincerely respectful of Harold, the two of them seeming to share a true communion. In such circumstances, where someone is exalted on a highly publicized reading circuit such as Kunitz was on, one can feel quite alone. It seemed to me that Kunitz felt some of that and appreciated Harold being there as perhaps the only one who felt real to him, and the respect he gently conferred on Harold showed me where Norse stood in the pantheon, a place that is so earned that it need not be shouted out, for it is earned by following a path that humbles the greatest among us, and is beyond us all. It was a bit of an eye-opener for me to see this bond between poets from such different categories, one being currently lionized by the literary establishment and the other more obscure and often associated with the Beats. For true poets, dedicated to showing the kinship between all living beings, such categories are illusory distractions that divide us unnecessarily.

For much more about Harold Norse:

Harold Norse tribute site: http://haroldnorse.com/
This is an excellent "all you want to know" site about Norse complete with many photos, comments, obits, links, and poems.

Also:

Obituary: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/13/arts/music/13norse.html
Three poems: http://www.abalonemoon.com/norse.html
Obituary: http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2009/jun/17/obituary-harold-norse
Remembrance by Jan Herman: http://www.artsjournal.com/herman/2009/06/harold_norse_rip_1.html
Photo: http://www.glbtq.com/literature/norse_h,zoom.html