As both a feminist and a longtime admirer of Robert Bly’s work, I find myself wanting to respond to your excellent, in-depth article [“The Dude Abides,” January]. Not so long ago I ran into one of Bly’s “woodsy drummers,” who expressed amazement that I didn’t find anything wrong with what he was doing. Unless Bly and his drummers are propounding things I haven’t heard of yet (or clandestinely burning women at the stake), I fully support his movement. What’s wrong with men recognizing that there’s something wrong with men in this society, and trying to make themselves more whole? We have—statistically—one of the more violent countries in the world, and more than ninety percent of our violent crimes are committed by men. Something is very wrong here. Like many women I know, I’m tired of trying to teach men how to become human. If they want to do it themselves, I for one am all for it. (Yes, of course I’m speaking in generalities; I know there are also very well-balanced men…on occasion.) When we relegate emotional and cultural work to females, both sexes lose out. Having said that, I would also like to note that many of the early alarmist responses by feminists are also understandable. They were justifiably afraid of the directions this idea might go; groups like the Promise Keepers and the “white men’s rights” bunch bear out their concerns. But that is certainly not the fault of Robert Bly or his movement. As for you, Mr. Bly: Please keep on drumming, dancing, dreaming, writing, and working the clay of those archetypes.
Gail Cerridwen, Anoka
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