What inspired the poem “Calling all epic seers”?
I wrote the poem in 1980. More and more writers were coming out and getting away with it. Fewer were trying to hide their sexuality. But many came out only socially, not in their work, at least not boldly and directly. If you did come out in your work, critics jumped to diminish you. For example, at the 1976 meeting of the Modern Language Association, one straight professor at the University of Colorado gave a paper complaining that gay and lesbian writers were coming out. By their struggle with secrecy, he insisted, gays and lesbians have added much rich ambiguity and double entendre to our language. We are in danger of losing their gift to us. I congratulated him on this insight and suggested that, using his logic, the MLA should promote the oppression heterosexuals — to enrich our literature. The audience hooted. Later that day he was on the hiring committee when I went for an interview; he got the last laugh. I did not get the job. In another panel at that same MLA meeting, I gave
