Venereal Soil

The poet Wallace Stevens who spent lots of time in Key West, Florida, and who once got in a fist fight with Ernest Hemingway (he lost) described the sunshine state as “venereal soil” which is as obscure a thing to say about a place as saying that New Jersey is the land of spiritual twilight. It sounds good but it doesn’t mean anything. Of fecundity Florida has plenty; perhaps she even hosts venery (ya think?); she has her obscure museums and post-modern tribes; and yet and yet–well–I’m heading to Sarasota to do some writing and walk my dog on the beach and with the help of Pegassus I hope we see an Osprey, visually impaired be damned! And I desire affirmingly to be inspirited by an osprey which of course sounds venereal enough. Finally, let it be said that I will be posting from the beach for the next five weeks and I’m even going to try and take some pictures, vision impairment be damned, and post them.

Of the famous fist fight Ernest Hemingway remarked that Stevens was big, but like most poets he couldn’t fight.

I don’t know why Hemingway wanted to punch Stevens. Too much venereal soil I imagine. But that was in Key West. I promise not to punch the osprey because, after all, I’m a nature poet of sorts.

S.K. 

Author: stevekuusisto

Poet, Essayist, Blogger, Journalist, Memoirist, Disability Rights Advocate, Public Speaker, Professor, Syracuse University View all posts by stevekuusisto