Satirical Verses

Satire has long been a favorite device of artists seeking to subvert by making fun of those in power, be it church, state, king or landlord. If they are especially good at it, they can be banished, like cartoonist Thomas Nast, or novelist Salman Rushdie. But poetry has never wielded enough influence to bring down such reprisals in the U.S. The satirical and lyric poetry of Edward Dorn has enjoyed a small avid audience since the early 1960s. Abhorrences and his Defense of Heresy & Heretics continue to excite and incite his readership. His most recent title is a book of translations from Native American languages, The Sun Unwound: Original Texts from Occupied America (North Atlantic Books).