This weekend, by Pamela Druckerman, a former Miamian, that was part jab at the "vapid" city where she grew up, and part backhanded appreciation of Miami's cultural developments since the 1970s.
Druckerman is now a Parisian. Her piece -- titled "Miami Grows Up. A Little" -- included statements like "And while there are some thinkers scattered around town, Miami is overrun with lawyers, jewelry designers and personal trainers, all trying to sell services to one another." And there other belittling comments about our metropolitan maturation and the industry growth it comes with.
You really oughta read it. To me, it felt filled with disdain for Miami's large immigrant populations -- I'm an immigrant myself -- denoting that "Anglos" make up only 15 percent of Miamians these days. But during her childhood here, when she apparently learned the proper ambition for a girl (as her article's lede points out) was to covet a plastic-surgeon husband, the demographics were much different.
In short, the essay was a passive-aggressive depreciation of Druckerman's hometown. Does it feel like ?
Anyway, today local poet P. Scott Cunningham, of the SA国际传谋 partner O, Miami Poetry Festival, came to the city's defense -- in tweet.
Numbered thoughts about 鈥檚 piece from a 鈥渘ormal-looking鈥� Miamian with 鈥渟emi-intellectual aspirations鈥�...
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
1) 鈥淕rows up鈥� was a bad choice for a metaphor. Cities aren鈥檛 people. It鈥檚 a poor analogy. Simplifies w/o providing clarity.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
2) Just because you were a spoiled teenager, doesn鈥檛 mean Miami was one. False equivalence. You grew up. Not Miami.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
3) The structure of your lede (conditional tense, adverb) makes it feel like a fib to set up your analogy.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
4) If you struggled to find good conversation, tell us where you were looking, not how many laps you swam. Makes it hard for us to judge.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
5) The piece has true parts. Inequality is indeed a serious problem here. But the piece doesn鈥檛 communicate a serious concern about it.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
6) To wit: who is this 鈥渘ormal-looking鈥� person you鈥檙e looking for? Is she Cuban? Haitian? Overweight? College-educated?
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
7) Or does 鈥渘ormal-looking鈥� means 鈥渘o plastic surgery?鈥� In that case, inequality has made sure that 99% of us can't afford it.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
8) Miami did not get more interesting 鈥渏ust by existing.鈥� It鈥檚 gotten more interesting thanks to the work of people you haven鈥檛 met yet.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
9) Maybe the problem is that you were looking for people with a 鈥渕ild social conscience.鈥� The Miamians I know have a major one.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
10) Since when is sentimentality about one鈥檚 city a sign of immaturity? No one is sentimental about Paris, huh?
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
11) Places you alluded to visiting: Mall. Pool. Spa. If I go to the Eiffel Tower and the Mandarin Hotel will I understand Paris?
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
12) You felt superior to Miami then. You鈥檙e acting superior to it now. That鈥檚 what Miamians are objecting to. Not the criticism.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
13) We know the city has real problems that have nothing to do with adolescence and plastic surgery. Or mangoes. Mmm, mangoes鈥�.
— P. Scott Cunningham (@cunningpscott)
