The Defensive
by Derick Varn

Lately, my e-mail account has been flooded with people offended that I had "stolen" titles to my work from lines within songs written by former Archers of Loaf frontman, Eric Bachman. Fellow fans and individuals working within Archers of Loaf's website have been noted as saying that it's "pretty sad that you have to show other's work off as your own." "Let the Loser Melt," "Public Finger on the False Alarm," "Hate Paste" and "Laughing Mouths and Dancing Girls" all allude to Archer's of Loaf songs by indirectly, or in the case of "Public Finger on the False Alarm" and "Let the Loser Melt," directly quoting Bachman's words. I can honestly say that I never intended to take credit for origin of these lines–I assumed that those who knew the music would instantly recognize the allusion. Other references to music such as Miles Davis's "Bitches Brew" and Jawbox's "My Scrapbook of Fatal Accidents" exist within my poetry. These allusions were in the same spirit as when Joy Division lifted the title of J.G Ballard's "Atrocity Exhibition" or when Faulkner lifted direct lines from Shakespeare to title "The Sound and The Fury." Like those musicians and writers, I saw it as a homage to an artist I respected, not intellectual theft. The works within those poems are mine and only resemble the songs alluded to in theme.

Apologies for works I wrote over two years ago aside. There is a kind of alternative rock elitism going on here. If I quoted someone better known–even without directly citing it–no one would be offended. As a writer, I have chosen to reflect all I come into contact with through my writing, be that a personal affair or a news event or an artistic medium. When writing, I am "sampling" culture. The culture of the independent music in the South Eastern United States is hardly EVER touched by an artistic culture and I thought people like Bachman needed some artistic representation. That culture seems not to want to be sampled. I have since moved on.

So the poems with Bachman allusions have been noted officially and thus the necessary credit given to the man who influenced so much of my poetry. I have never published those poems with Bachman references in academic journals and I am going to denote specific lines with Bachman references in footnotes if I ever do. To all those who feel like I have cheated them or Archers of Loaf, I am sorry–I never intended to steal a damn thing.

Derick Varn is a poet and longstanding contributor to Unlikely Stories. Check out his literary works at this site.