Commentary on Commentary

Others have less lofty views of the board's role in Harvard literary life. David B. Lurie '93, for example, calls McCauley's Board Board "a glorified bathroom wall."

But that is exactly what attracts him to the forum, admits the literature concentrator, who is also an editor of Padan Aram. "The comments are always amusing because people are so full of themselves, especially when it starts to go back and forth and you see commentary on the commentary," he says.

And the Board Board does perform a valuable service to the community, Lurie says. "If there's a poem up there without a name on it, it could have been written by a freshman, or it could have been written by someone who's been published in the Advocate 50 times," Lurie points out.

"It's so rare at Harvard for any writing to be valued for what it is and not for who wrote it or what purpose it's supposed to serve," he says.

And though some potential contributors may be scared off by the caustic comments, many are not. Most Board Board poets return to post again and again.

Students who frequent the board know the writers only by who laserprints and who types, or by particular initials, as few writers sign their pieces. For die-hard readers of the board, common questions lie more along the lines of 'Why is D.M. so bitter?" than "Who is D.M.?"

Although Lurie claims to know D.M. personally, he would not reveal the Board Board celebrity's identity.

Dare to Bare

So for now at least, any Harvard student who dares to bare his or her poetic soul on the Board Board can rest assured that there is an invisible audience out there waiting--albeit in most cases with caustic remarks at the ready.

The commentary sparked by "Time Stole Their Lives," a poem posted earlier this month, captures the essence of today's board culture.

The poem, written carefully in black ink, received the typical slew of responses. "Nice poem, but the calligraphy is a turn-off. Buy a Mac like everybody else," wrote one commentator.

Another liked the poem. "Your piece is marked by balance, dimension and remarkable clarity," the critic wrote. "Poignant expression and lucid meaning. Interesting diction and scholarly tone. Good luck."

The third--but not final, of course--commentator retorted in glorious Board Board style, "Whoever wrote this comment must be a total moron."

"How could anyone think that this piece of crap is 'poignant? Both the comment and your work suck."

The note is unsigned, but the handwriting looks familiar. D.M., is that you?