STUDENTS WRITING POETS: Rives Blog - Jessee

[Ryan Goble]

I had been holding on to this one for a while -

Are folks familiar with Rives? Here's a famous performance poem of his from DefPoet's Jam. Note there is some adult content, but it is essential to understand the student letter to the author that follows:

Nicole and I had a chance to see Rives read at the Bowery Poetry Club in maybe 2007? During his performance Rives read this incredible exchange between him and a high school students. I couldn't easily find it on Rives Blog http://www.shopliftwindchimes.com so I wrote him and he gave me the links.

What follows comes directly from http://www.shopliftwindchimes.com/jesse.html

 

Jesse* (*Edited for brevity, clarity and privacy) JESSE WROTE: Dear Rives, My name is Jesse and I am a student at _______ High School. I just wanted to tell you that you are my favorite poet. I especially like your poem "Kite." I probably have it memorized from watching Def Poetry Jam so many times, but I don't think I have the guts to perform it at Speech and Debate. [SMILEY FACE] If you have a few moments, I was wondering if you could fill out an interview for my AP English class. The assignment is to electronically interview a living author, journalist or poet and I would like to interview you as a slam poet to show that it is just as much an art form as the other ones. If you don't have the time, I understand, but I would appreciate it if you could respond. Thank you. Sincerely, Jesse. RIVES WROTE: Hello Jesse, Thanks for your e-mail and your compliments. I'm glad you like "Kite"--it's one of my favorites. I tried a PG-13 version once, but it turned out just about as intimate as a house plant. I have filled out your "Living Authors" interview, but with a twist. There were 11 questions. I answered seven of them, at random, honestly. I answered one of them, also at random, dishonestly, but I won't tell you which one. And I've left three of the responses blank. I request that you MAKE UP my answers to the remaining three questions and turn them in as part of the final assignment. You don't have to tell anyone that you made up the answers, but if you do, you don't have to tell anyone which ones. Good luck and have fun. JESSE WROTE: Dear Rives, Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out the interview. It will be a challenge to make up your answers! I definitely won't procrastinate! JESSE WROTE: Dear Rives, My teacher, Mrs. Tedesco, doesn't exactly believe me about the interview. I printed out your email, but I think she thinks I made it up myself because I haven't told her which answers you left blank. Should I just tell her? Or would it be at all possible for me to give her your address so she can inquire herself? I know I have already taken up a lot of your time, but this is our final project after we took the AP exam. RIVES WROTE: Hey Jesse--check the website. [ON MAY 28 I POSTED THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE ON THE SHOPLIFTWINDCHIMES.COM BLOG SECTION, WHICH IS PUBLIC, BUT ONLY I HAVE ACCESS TO ITS CONTENT.] CONFIDENTIAL TO MRS. T______: Your student, Jesse, sent a polite, grammatical and earnest request to this website along with your "Author Interview." I answered 7 of the questions honestly, I made up one of my answers, and I instructed Jesse to make up my answers for the remaining three (random) questions. I also told Jesse he didn't need to tell anyone, including you, which answers were invented. So he's not making it up. That part of the story, I mean. MRS. TEDESCO WROTE: Dear Rives, I should inform you first off that Jesse is Jessica, although she does go by just "J-e-s-s-e." She is a very intelligent student, although she and the rest of the graduating seniors seem to be having trouble focusing lately, I wonder why! I will also tell you that she is thoroughly enjoying the small controversy surrounding this assignment. And what an interesting assignment it turned out to be! Thank you for your responses and for the way you engaged Jesse. I am attaching a copy of your interview with her, for your own curiosity. I was also hoping you could tell me which of the answers were made up--for my own curiosity! This would also help me greatly in my grading of Jesse for this assignment. Thank you again for your time. Sincerely, K____ Tedesco. RIVES WROTE: Hello Jesse-- Mrs. Tedesco has just sent me a copy of our interview. It appears that you have made up my responses to FOUR of the questions, not three. In addition, you have altered, sometimes considerably, my answers to three OTHER questions. Is that what I'm looking at? JESSE WROTE: Dear Rives, I am writing to apologize. I guess I got caught up in you asking me to make up answers, and I didn't think you would mind. I also felt that I needed to change some of your wording so that it would match the answers I wrote. I also took out the Herman Hesse parts in #3 and #4 because I thought his name looked too much like "Jesse" and I didn't want Mrs. Tedesco to assume that those were the ones I made up. But that doesn't excuse my behavior, and I'm sorry if I offended you. Please accept my apology. Sincerely, Jesse p.s. I am female. RIVES WROTE: Dear Jesse-- Apology accepted, but honestly: none needed! Personally, I think your tactic is a pretty apt way to wrap up high school. And it's certainly in the spirit of the assignment. NOT the one Mrs. Tedesco gave you, but the one I gave you. As a journalist, you are thoroughly unethical. As a fabulist (look it up), you are fabulous. But what do you want me to tell Mrs. Tedesco? Write soon--I need to get back to her. JESSE WROTE: I'm glad you're not pissed off. Mrs. Tedesco isn't pissed off either, but she DOES want to know which three answers I made up. I guess you can tell her if you want. I wouldn't mind if you didn't tell her about the answers I changed though. RIVES WROTE: Yeah, I bet you wouldn't. RIVES WROTE: Dear Mrs. Tedesco, Thank you for sending me a copy of my interview with Jesse--it was very enlightening. As for which three answers she made up--I'm going to have to stick with Jesse on this one. Whatever she discloses is fine by me. MRS. TEDESCO WROTE: Dear Rives, I thought for some reason you might be an easier nut to crack than a seventeen-year-old honor student, but I guess I was wrong! Any chance of you telling me which answer YOU made up? One answer? RIVES WROTE: Dear Mrs. Tedesco, Aw, golly. No can do. JESSE WROTE: Dear Rives, Mrs. Tedesco just told me that you told her which answers I made up, but she seemed like she might be joking. Was she joking? RIVES WROTE: Dear Jesse, Well, Mrs. Tedesco MIGHT be joking, but she's definitely lying, and it's serves you right, smarty-pants. Me, I kept mum all the way. But hey, I was thinking: I sent you a total of eight answers, one of which I made up. Or TOLD you I made up. You ditched or rewrote four of those. That leaves four total answers that you didn't touch. Why not pick three of the four and tell Mrs. Tedeseco that those were the answers you made up. As a bonus, tell her that the fourth answer was the one that I told you that I made up. JESSE WROTE: Dear Rives, That's a great idea! Maybe now she'll give me my grade and I can graduate! Just kidding!!! I think I'll tell her you made up #6. That's the one I've always thought you made up anyway. Just out of curiosity--am I right? I know you don't have to tell me, but it WOULD make a nice graduation present... RIVES WROTE: Hey Jesse, #6. Made it up. You were right. Happy graduation, and good luck at B____ in the fall. JESSE WROTE: Dear Rives, Summer is here and life is crazy, but I'm loving it. How about you ;)? I have been thinking about something for a while, so I thought I would ask. Was #6 REALLY the answer you made up, or were you just telling me that? RIVES WROTE: Dear Jesse, You'll never know. JESSE WROTE: I guess that's true. RIVES WROTE: Hey Jesse, I'VE been thinking: Was there ever really a Mrs. Tedesco? MRS. TEDESCO WROTE: Dear Rives, You'll never know. RIVES WROTE: I guess that's true.