Dar sent a letter to the New York Times Magazine last month [August 2002]  in response to David Hajdu's article "Queer As Folk" where he talked about how many lesbian folk fans there are these days and how folk artists respond to them.  The reaction within the folk world was mostly one of shock, since he apparently misquoted and/or twisted what the artists he interviewed had told him, to fit a sort of predetermined thesis.  Dar and other artists who were quoted sent rebuttal letters, and we waited a couple of weeks, but none of them were printed (instead, they printed two "thanks for the insightful article" letters).  So at Dar's request, this letter was forwarded to the Dar-list.
Sept. 16, 2002

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Letter to the Editor:

I disagree with David Hajdu's suggestion that a lesbian orthodoxy threatens to compromise contemporary folk music.  I also fear that my comments were taken out of context to prove the article¹s point.  Out of respect for the lesbians who have supported my music, I need to clarify that while I recognized their financial clout (and more power to them, by the way), I never felt any need to camouflage my identity to secure their loyalty.

My career has, in fact, been a test balloon of what it means to support lesbians without necessarily being one.  Many lesbian fans knew I was straight but chose not to make this public before I did. We were asking, collectively, "Can we share a profound poetic trust that transcends the question of who is and isn't gay?"  At present, and in keeping with a gay movement that continues to diversify and make new allies, it seems that the answer is yes.

Dar Williams
New York