Narcissistic language prevails in “Tea at the Palaz of Hoon.” The narrator may not only be celebratory; he is also self-congratulatory. The idea that “I was the world in which I walked,” even for a vampire experiencing transformation or a first feeding, is narcissistic. However, like the need to “have a mind of winter” in order to survive as all of one’s companions, family members, and touchstones of society fade away, a vampire’s long-term survival necessitates narcissistic behavior. Taking another’s life or life blood to further one’s own continued existence represents the epitome of narcissistic behavior----it is self-involved egotism that places the vampire’s needs above the needs of all others, and it is a common thread in vampire fiction.
Vampires as other reflect several layers of real-world action and belief. Research has suggested that modern-day “vampire crimes” have psychological bases in narcissism. The Ferrell, Chase, and Riva murders have been connected to narcissist mental illnesses (Ramsland) because of the perpetrators’ desires to be vampires and to have the power to be “the world in which I walked” and find “myself more truly and more strange.” These crimes have often caused parents whose children are drawn to movies and books featuring vampires to become concerned for their children's mental health, particularly as vampire literature often greatly appeals to students who feel their otherness acutely.
“Tea at the Palaz of Hoon” is a provocative and alluring poem, echoing the seduction and allure of the vampire mythos, even in modern society. An increasing number of people live “out” in vampire communities as sanguinarians (blood-drinkers), psi-vamps, or hybrids. The community contains a high amount of people battling depression and other severe psychological disorders, so many sites exist to urge people who wish to join the community to ensure they are under psychiatric care if they have need of it. In her paper “Vampire Crime,” Katharine Ramsland warns, “The vampire is a dangerous creature. Using this mythos for a protective frame heightens excitement but may also inspire aggression, depending on the state of mind of the person involved.” One of the largest vampire lifestyle sites is the Atlanta Vampire Alliance. This organization stresses safety for people perusing the site in an effort to warn potentially emotionally vulnerable people of predators (“General Safety Guidelines”). To gain acceptance as a lifestyle choice and fight negative stereotypes because of the “vampire crimes” and instability of many of the members, the vampire community contains several active and public vampire personalities who appear on documentaries, reality television shows, and do interviews whenever media hype involving vampire crimes or vampire movies occur. Their efforts attempt to indicate “not less was I myself” with their connection to vampires. In fact, Michelle Belanger, a researcher, writer, and one of the “faces” of the vampire lifestyle community, has been interviewing people within the community to discover how the current popular cultural emphasis on vampires has made existing as a self-proclaimed vampire positive or negative; her interviews have encouraged many community members to self-reflect upon their activities, perceptions, and connection to the subculture. However, the public relations push of this movement has inspired a resistant group of Christian “vampire hunters,” forcing many people in vampire communities even further into otherness rather than acceptance (Keyworth).
Although early literary vampires, such as Carmilla and Dracula, demonstrate no need for self-reflection, later interpretations encourage justification and reasoning behind vampires’ decision-making processes. Anne Rice's entire body of work could be read as justification for or analysis of vampiric actions, and the Twilight saga also emphasizes self-reflection and vampiric angst as well as aspects of vampiric narcissism or superiority as the perfect predator. In addition, “Tea at the Palaz of Hoon” represents another work to add to the discussion that provides not only a vampire’s defense or justification of his transformation and feeding requirements, but his continued pleasure at being a vampire.
The vampire theme is an important example or symbol of otherness, not only in relation to the literary other, but the concrete others who may hover within the margins of humanity due to race, lifestyle choices, socio-economic status, sexuality, mental instability, anxiety, or depression. People on the margins of society may search for belonging but may not find connections in socially-acceptable ways. However, poetry represents one way people who feel other may connect to something. Some poetry acts as a catharsis for those who experience the pain of normalization and of societal expectations because of their otherness. In addition, poets, even the happiest ones, may connect to those people who feel isolated from society within their daily activities because poetry, too, can be viewed as a fringe activity indicative of otherness. Poetry serves to connect those people who feel isolated from the majority social culture by answering Franz Wright's plea, which may speak on behalf of many poets and their readers: “While there is time let me a little belong” (24).
Works Cited and Referenced
Adams, John. The American Enlightenment. 163. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.zeios.com/OurRepublic/Author/56>
Anthropomorphic Research Project. International Online Furry Survey. Winter 2011. Web. 2 August
2011. <http://sites.google.com/site/anthropomorphicresearch/past-results/international-online-
furry-survey-2011>
Ammons, A. R. Garbage. New York: Norton. 1924. Print.
BDSM and Biochemistry. Science Forums. 11 November 2007. Web. 5 August 2011.
<http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/27326-bdsm-and-biochemistry/
Bishop, Elizabeth. At the Fishhouses. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 64-66. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. Casabianca. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 5. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. In the Waiting Room. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New
York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 159-161. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. One Art. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 178. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. The End of March. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 179-180. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. The Moose. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 169-173. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. Manners. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 121-122. Print.
Brooks, Garth. Standing Outside the Fire. Lyrics007. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.lyrics007.com/Garth%20Brooks%20Lyrics/Standing%20Outside%20The%20Fire
%20Lyrics.html>
Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. Print.
Dickinson, Emily. Much Madness is Divinest Sense--. Bartleby Bookstore. 1924. Web. July 20, 2011.
http://www.bartleby.com/113/1011.html
Concrete Blonde. The Beast. Lyricstime. Web. 2 August 2011. <http://www.lyricstime.com/concrete-
blonde-the-beast-lyrics.html>
Gaimon, Neil. The Kindly Ones. The Sandman. 1996. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the+kindly+ones>
General Safety Guidelines. Atlanta Vampire Alliance and Suscitatio Enterprises. 11 April 2011. Web. 5
August, 2011. < http://www.atlantavampirealliance.com/educational/abuseawareness.html>
Gluck, Louise. Brown Circle. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 42-43. Print.
Gluck, Louise. Confession. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 25. Print.
Gluck, Louise. First Memory. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 68. Print.
Gluck, Louise. Parodos. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 15-16. Print.
Gluck, Louise. The Untrustworthy Speaker. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 34-35. Print.
Gluck, Louise. Widows. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 23-24. Print.
Hammett, Dashiell. Maltese Falcon. 1930.
Holland, Tom. Lord of the Dead: The Secret Life of Byron. Pocket Books. 1996. Print.
Jekkal. The Real Difference Between Anthro and Furry. DeviantArt. 9 April 2007. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://news.deviantart.com/article/28000/>
Keyworth, D. The Socio-religious Beliefs and Nature of Contemporary Vampire Subculture. Journal of
Contemporary Religion. 2002 October, 355-370. Web. 5 August 2011.
Le Fanu, Sheridan. Carmilla. 1872. Web. 5 August 2011.
Lindqvist, John Ajvide. Let the Right One In. 2004. Print.
Lowell, Robert. Skunk Hour. Collected Poems. Print.
Lomata. Casabianca (idea). Everything2. 15 2001 May. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://everything2.com/user/Lometa/writeups/Casabianca>
Marx, Karl. Herr Vogt. 16 November 1860. Web. 5 August 2011.
<http://noxe.tumblr.com/post/6482975137/the-only-antidote-to-mental-suffering-is-physical>
O'Hara, Frank. Poem. Lunch Poems. San Francisco: City Lights (1964), 8-9. Print
O'Hara, Frank. Yesterday Down at the Canal. Lunch Poems. San Francisco: City Lights (1964), 66-68.
Print.
Piercy, Marge. To Be of Use. Northnode, Inc. 1973. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.northnode.org/poem.htm>
Ramsland, Katharine. Vampire Crime. The Web of Narcissism. 2 November 2010. Web. 5 August 2011.
<http://thewebofnarcissism.blogspot.com/2010/11/katherine-ramsland_02.html>
Rice, Anne. Interview with the Vampire. 1976. Print.
Robson, Catharine. Standing on the Burning Deck: Poetry, Performance, History. PMLA 120, (2005),
148-162. Print.
Simon, Paul, and Art Garfunkel. I am a Rock. Lyricsfreak. 1965. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/i+am+a+rock_20124809.html>
Stevens, Wallace. The Snowman. The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens. New York:
Vintage Books (1982), 9-10. Print.
Stevens, Wallace. Tea at the Palaz of Hoon. The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens. New York:
Vintage Books (1982), 65. Print.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. 1897. Web. 5 August 2011.
Szymborska, Wislawa. Astonishment. 1972. Prentice-Hall Textbook: Gold Level. Print.
Three Days Grace. Pain. Elyrics. Web. 2 August 2011. <http://www.elyrics.net/read/t/three-days-grace-
lyrics/pain-lyrics.html>
Tourneur, Jacque. Director. Cat People. RKO Radio Pictures. 1942.
Wright, Franz. Certain Tall Buildings. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 19. Print.
Wright, Franz. Night Said. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 22-23. Print.
Wright, Franz. Time to Stop Keeping a Dream Journal. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 34-35. Print.
Wright, Franz. The Winter Skyline Late. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 39. Print.
Wright, Franz. The World. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 24. Print.
Wright, Franz. Words. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 15. Print.
Vampires as other reflect several layers of real-world action and belief. Research has suggested that modern-day “vampire crimes” have psychological bases in narcissism. The Ferrell, Chase, and Riva murders have been connected to narcissist mental illnesses (Ramsland) because of the perpetrators’ desires to be vampires and to have the power to be “the world in which I walked” and find “myself more truly and more strange.” These crimes have often caused parents whose children are drawn to movies and books featuring vampires to become concerned for their children's mental health, particularly as vampire literature often greatly appeals to students who feel their otherness acutely.
“Tea at the Palaz of Hoon” is a provocative and alluring poem, echoing the seduction and allure of the vampire mythos, even in modern society. An increasing number of people live “out” in vampire communities as sanguinarians (blood-drinkers), psi-vamps, or hybrids. The community contains a high amount of people battling depression and other severe psychological disorders, so many sites exist to urge people who wish to join the community to ensure they are under psychiatric care if they have need of it. In her paper “Vampire Crime,” Katharine Ramsland warns, “The vampire is a dangerous creature. Using this mythos for a protective frame heightens excitement but may also inspire aggression, depending on the state of mind of the person involved.” One of the largest vampire lifestyle sites is the Atlanta Vampire Alliance. This organization stresses safety for people perusing the site in an effort to warn potentially emotionally vulnerable people of predators (“General Safety Guidelines”). To gain acceptance as a lifestyle choice and fight negative stereotypes because of the “vampire crimes” and instability of many of the members, the vampire community contains several active and public vampire personalities who appear on documentaries, reality television shows, and do interviews whenever media hype involving vampire crimes or vampire movies occur. Their efforts attempt to indicate “not less was I myself” with their connection to vampires. In fact, Michelle Belanger, a researcher, writer, and one of the “faces” of the vampire lifestyle community, has been interviewing people within the community to discover how the current popular cultural emphasis on vampires has made existing as a self-proclaimed vampire positive or negative; her interviews have encouraged many community members to self-reflect upon their activities, perceptions, and connection to the subculture. However, the public relations push of this movement has inspired a resistant group of Christian “vampire hunters,” forcing many people in vampire communities even further into otherness rather than acceptance (Keyworth).
Although early literary vampires, such as Carmilla and Dracula, demonstrate no need for self-reflection, later interpretations encourage justification and reasoning behind vampires’ decision-making processes. Anne Rice's entire body of work could be read as justification for or analysis of vampiric actions, and the Twilight saga also emphasizes self-reflection and vampiric angst as well as aspects of vampiric narcissism or superiority as the perfect predator. In addition, “Tea at the Palaz of Hoon” represents another work to add to the discussion that provides not only a vampire’s defense or justification of his transformation and feeding requirements, but his continued pleasure at being a vampire.
The vampire theme is an important example or symbol of otherness, not only in relation to the literary other, but the concrete others who may hover within the margins of humanity due to race, lifestyle choices, socio-economic status, sexuality, mental instability, anxiety, or depression. People on the margins of society may search for belonging but may not find connections in socially-acceptable ways. However, poetry represents one way people who feel other may connect to something. Some poetry acts as a catharsis for those who experience the pain of normalization and of societal expectations because of their otherness. In addition, poets, even the happiest ones, may connect to those people who feel isolated from society within their daily activities because poetry, too, can be viewed as a fringe activity indicative of otherness. Poetry serves to connect those people who feel isolated from the majority social culture by answering Franz Wright's plea, which may speak on behalf of many poets and their readers: “While there is time let me a little belong” (24).
Works Cited and Referenced
Adams, John. The American Enlightenment. 163. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.zeios.com/OurRepublic/Author/56>
Anthropomorphic Research Project. International Online Furry Survey. Winter 2011. Web. 2 August
2011. <http://sites.google.com/site/anthropomorphicresearch/past-results/international-online-
furry-survey-2011>
Ammons, A. R. Garbage. New York: Norton. 1924. Print.
BDSM and Biochemistry. Science Forums. 11 November 2007. Web. 5 August 2011.
<http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/27326-bdsm-and-biochemistry/
Bishop, Elizabeth. At the Fishhouses. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 64-66. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. Casabianca. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 5. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. In the Waiting Room. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New
York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 159-161. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. One Art. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 178. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. The End of March. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 179-180. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. The Moose. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 169-173. Print.
Bishop, Elizabeth. Manners. Elizabeth Bishop: The Complete Poems, 1927-1979. New York:
Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 121-122. Print.
Brooks, Garth. Standing Outside the Fire. Lyrics007. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.lyrics007.com/Garth%20Brooks%20Lyrics/Standing%20Outside%20The%20Fire
%20Lyrics.html>
Carroll, Lewis. Alice in Wonderland. Print.
Dickinson, Emily. Much Madness is Divinest Sense--. Bartleby Bookstore. 1924. Web. July 20, 2011.
http://www.bartleby.com/113/1011.html
Concrete Blonde. The Beast. Lyricstime. Web. 2 August 2011. <http://www.lyricstime.com/concrete-
blonde-the-beast-lyrics.html>
Gaimon, Neil. The Kindly Ones. The Sandman. 1996. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/the+kindly+ones>
General Safety Guidelines. Atlanta Vampire Alliance and Suscitatio Enterprises. 11 April 2011. Web. 5
August, 2011. < http://www.atlantavampirealliance.com/educational/abuseawareness.html>
Gluck, Louise. Brown Circle. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 42-43. Print.
Gluck, Louise. Confession. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 25. Print.
Gluck, Louise. First Memory. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 68. Print.
Gluck, Louise. Parodos. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 15-16. Print.
Gluck, Louise. The Untrustworthy Speaker. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 34-35. Print.
Gluck, Louise. Widows. Ararat. New York: The Ecco Press (1990), 23-24. Print.
Hammett, Dashiell. Maltese Falcon. 1930.
Holland, Tom. Lord of the Dead: The Secret Life of Byron. Pocket Books. 1996. Print.
Jekkal. The Real Difference Between Anthro and Furry. DeviantArt. 9 April 2007. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://news.deviantart.com/article/28000/>
Keyworth, D. The Socio-religious Beliefs and Nature of Contemporary Vampire Subculture. Journal of
Contemporary Religion. 2002 October, 355-370. Web. 5 August 2011.
Le Fanu, Sheridan. Carmilla. 1872. Web. 5 August 2011.
Lindqvist, John Ajvide. Let the Right One In. 2004. Print.
Lowell, Robert. Skunk Hour. Collected Poems. Print.
Lomata. Casabianca (idea). Everything2. 15 2001 May. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://everything2.com/user/Lometa/writeups/Casabianca>
Marx, Karl. Herr Vogt. 16 November 1860. Web. 5 August 2011.
<http://noxe.tumblr.com/post/6482975137/the-only-antidote-to-mental-suffering-is-physical>
O'Hara, Frank. Poem. Lunch Poems. San Francisco: City Lights (1964), 8-9. Print
O'Hara, Frank. Yesterday Down at the Canal. Lunch Poems. San Francisco: City Lights (1964), 66-68.
Print.
Piercy, Marge. To Be of Use. Northnode, Inc. 1973. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.northnode.org/poem.htm>
Ramsland, Katharine. Vampire Crime. The Web of Narcissism. 2 November 2010. Web. 5 August 2011.
<http://thewebofnarcissism.blogspot.com/2010/11/katherine-ramsland_02.html>
Rice, Anne. Interview with the Vampire. 1976. Print.
Robson, Catharine. Standing on the Burning Deck: Poetry, Performance, History. PMLA 120, (2005),
148-162. Print.
Simon, Paul, and Art Garfunkel. I am a Rock. Lyricsfreak. 1965. Web. 2 August 2011.
<http://www.lyricsfreak.com/s/simon+and+garfunkel/i+am+a+rock_20124809.html>
Stevens, Wallace. The Snowman. The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens. New York:
Vintage Books (1982), 9-10. Print.
Stevens, Wallace. Tea at the Palaz of Hoon. The Collected Poems of Wallace Stevens. New York:
Vintage Books (1982), 65. Print.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula. 1897. Web. 5 August 2011.
Szymborska, Wislawa. Astonishment. 1972. Prentice-Hall Textbook: Gold Level. Print.
Three Days Grace. Pain. Elyrics. Web. 2 August 2011. <http://www.elyrics.net/read/t/three-days-grace-
lyrics/pain-lyrics.html>
Tourneur, Jacque. Director. Cat People. RKO Radio Pictures. 1942.
Wright, Franz. Certain Tall Buildings. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 19. Print.
Wright, Franz. Night Said. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 22-23. Print.
Wright, Franz. Time to Stop Keeping a Dream Journal. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 34-35. Print.
Wright, Franz. The Winter Skyline Late. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 39. Print.
Wright, Franz. The World. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 24. Print.
Wright, Franz. Words. The Night World and the World Night.
Pittsburgh: Carnegie Mellon UP (1993), 15. Print.
