Thin Man Press, 2017
The titular poem, “The United States of Porn,” reflects the fact that America “owes its very name to an early Italian pornographer” (Amerigo Vespucci) and that a nation “steeped for centuries in violence, artifice and greed has reached its apotheosis” in electing Trump. Or as H.L. Mencken once wrote (in the Baltimore Evening Sun, July 26, 1920): “On some great and glorious day, the plain folks of the land will reach their heart’s desire at last, and the White House will be occupied by a downright fool and a complete narcissistic moron.” Here is Williams reading the poem, reminding us (per Susan Sontag) that “what pornography is really about isn’t sex but death”:
Williams’s reading was recorded at his home in Oxford, England, by Straight Up’s staff of thousands and was released on a vinyl LP album and CD by Sea Urchin Editions. The album also includes Williams reading the poems “Mr. President,” “Forbidden Fruit, or The Cybernetic Apple Core,” and “Snuff Films at the White House.” The poem “American Porn” was first published by Cold Turkey Press in an illustrated limited edition. The new Thin Man Press trade edition of American Porn includes 15 new poems and comes to 136 pages.
The Me Deal is about to begin. As Mencken might say, the boobs have spoken and they will be hurt.
A couple thoughts. 1) Americans were conditioned to be passive long before the flourishing of porn on the Internet. 2) Porn, which is essentially a form of masturbation, is such a complex topic that conflating it with political passivity only seems to confuse the issue of social indifference even if the metaphorical implications are interesting.
The foundations of American political passivity and the corruption of the Federal government can be traced all the way back to the era in which the constitution was written. Perhaps Shay’s Rebellion against the country’s nascent banking corporations was the first notable example, along with constitutionalizing human slavery about 1500 years after it ceased to exist in Europe. The Native American genocide and the Mexican American War further illustrated that our government lacked any moral orientation. The corruption and passivity became deeply entrenched during the Carpet Bagger era after the Civil War – and on its fields of blood. The rise of robber baron capitalism by the end of the 19th century cemented these problems in our society. The establishment of militarism after WWII strengthened the criminality and genocidal character of this ignominious history.
In that sense, you can look at how Americans simply accept all of this and see them as a bunch of jack offs.