Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
I will not make any more boring art.
I will not make any more boring art.
Compiled by Frances Sjoberg on the occasion of the Conceptual Poetry and Its Others Conference, University of Arizona
CHARLES BERNSTEIN
1. In poetry, they talk about finding your voice, which is too often a way of evading the voices to be found in the writing.
2. Not only do I consider works of official verse culture to be poetry (which is not, for me, an honorific category), but also one of the key features of official verse culture [is] that it could necessarily include some poetry that I like quite a lot.
3. I prefer minerals to insects but I have been working on this with my ontologist.
4. As an alternative to National Poetry Month, I propose that we have an International Anti-Poetry Month. As part of the activities, all verse in public places will be covered over--from the Statue of Liberty to the friezes on many of our government buildings...Parents will be asked not to read Mother Goose...Religious institutions will have to forego reading verse passages from the liturgy...with hymns strictly banned...No vocal music will be played on the radio or sung in concert halls. Children will have to stop playing all slapping and counting and singing games and stick to board games and football.
5. Oddly, it is a form of dissent these days to hold out that art that doesn't get the market share can actually be as valuable as the art that does....I'm for the ketchup that loses the race.
6. Attention: Write down everything you hear for one hour.
7. There is still a great deal of conceptualizing that leads up to any intuition.
from The Poetry Foundation's blog Harriet
Compiled by Frances Sjoberg on the occasion of the Conceptual Poetry and Its Others Conference, University of Arizona
CHARLES BERNSTEIN
1. In poetry, they talk about finding your voice, which is too often a way of evading the voices to be found in the writing.
2. Not only do I consider works of official verse culture to be poetry (which is not, for me, an honorific category), but also one of the key features of official verse culture [is] that it could necessarily include some poetry that I like quite a lot.
3. I prefer minerals to insects but I have been working on this with my ontologist.
4. As an alternative to National Poetry Month, I propose that we have an International Anti-Poetry Month. As part of the activities, all verse in public places will be covered over--from the Statue of Liberty to the friezes on many of our government buildings...Parents will be asked not to read Mother Goose...Religious institutions will have to forego reading verse passages from the liturgy...with hymns strictly banned...No vocal music will be played on the radio or sung in concert halls. Children will have to stop playing all slapping and counting and singing games and stick to board games and football.
5. Oddly, it is a form of dissent these days to hold out that art that doesn't get the market share can actually be as valuable as the art that does....I'm for the ketchup that loses the race.
6. Attention: Write down everything you hear for one hour.
7. There is still a great deal of conceptualizing that leads up to any intuition.
from The Poetry Foundation's blog Harriet
June Poetry Calendar up at FlashPaperPoetry
I have posted a new calendar from Tom Prunier (actually a revival of the old calendar) for Richmond Poetry Events over at FlashPaperPoetry. This supplements the Day by Day page on the site and highlights spoken word events. These events are all current and happening!
(doesn't mention my reading 11 am Saturday at the Norge library in Williamsburg)
On my regular calendar, I usually highlight academic/bookstore/gallery poetry events and readings, with a few open mikes thrown in rather than much of the 'spoken word' and 'slam' events.
Some of these events tend to run or start late at night, often in bars, and being neither a smoker nor drinker I don't get to many of them (I actually saw a blog that said 'come get drunk at so-and-so poetry slam- I'm guessing the poetry isn't the major attraction). Also, the events seem to come and go at random and I don't like to send people to events that may not happen.
While there is some crossover (not as much as I'd like to see) the truth is there is a divided community of poets in Richmond, the university set, the slam/spoken word set, and the rest of us [shmocks]. I don't know how to bring the groups together, though I'd like to think I've been trying for about fifteen years.
(doesn't mention my reading 11 am Saturday at the Norge library in Williamsburg)
On my regular calendar, I usually highlight academic/bookstore/gallery poetry events and readings, with a few open mikes thrown in rather than much of the 'spoken word' and 'slam' events.
Some of these events tend to run or start late at night, often in bars, and being neither a smoker nor drinker I don't get to many of them (I actually saw a blog that said 'come get drunk at so-and-so poetry slam- I'm guessing the poetry isn't the major attraction). Also, the events seem to come and go at random and I don't like to send people to events that may not happen.
While there is some crossover (not as much as I'd like to see) the truth is there is a divided community of poets in Richmond, the university set, the slam/spoken word set, and the rest of us [shmocks]. I don't know how to bring the groups together, though I'd like to think I've been trying for about fifteen years.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
George Garrett has died
I had no idea until I read it just now over at Ron Silliman's blog- guess that's what I get fot not reading the RTD anymore (also being incredibly busy last week).
He was poet laureate of Virginia from 2002-2006 (actually I thought it was only two years but I could be wrong.
George Garrett was a wonderful, kind man. I am grateful to have met him.
from the Washington Post
from the NY TImes
from the RTD
his funeral is Saturday at 11am in Charlottesville.
I'll be in Williamsburg reading poetry then.
He was poet laureate of Virginia from 2002-2006 (actually I thought it was only two years but I could be wrong.
George Garrett was a wonderful, kind man. I am grateful to have met him.
from the Washington Post
from the NY TImes
from the RTD
his funeral is Saturday at 11am in Charlottesville.
I'll be in Williamsburg reading poetry then.
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