An excellent and thought-provoking essay on the subject of the so-called new formalism.
. . . It’s when the new form begins to bear weight, to enable a tradition, to become institutionalized, that the aesthetic object passes over from the category of the avant-garde into that of formalism. That’s part of the point Paul Mann was making in his book, “The Theory-Death of the Avant-Garde,” when he writes, “there has never been a project for delegitimizing cultural practice that did not turn immediately, or sooner, into a means of legitimation…the avant-garde has in fact served, in most cases quite unwittingly, as an instrument for the incorporation of its own marginality. The avant-garde is outside of the inside, the leading edge of the mainstream.” Ouch! That’s a rather grim view of the commodification of the avant-garde and serves to collapse the distance we presume exists between it and formalism, but the generative act itself and its subsequent deployment by the earliest practitioners is where the potentialities of the future are balanced by the subsistence of the past. . . .
Readings webjournal: Ravi Shankar - Vikings and Yellow Submarines
If you'd like to get my posts in your inbox, just enter your e-mail address in the space below! Click on the links to go to dedicated pages for my poetry and prose collections. Use your browser button to return.
PA Puppy Mills - BOYCOTT Stores That Sell Puppy Mill Dogs PetsPlus Pet Shops in PA & NJ
PA Puppy Mills - BOYCOTT Stores That Sell Puppy Mill Dogs PetsPlus Pet Shops in PA & NJ
Some very mistreated dogs have been rescued from one of the evil Lancaster County puppy mills, but there are many more desperate animals that need to be saved. Read this story to be aware of this horrible situation and be able to help the cause of helping them.
Some very mistreated dogs have been rescued from one of the evil Lancaster County puppy mills, but there are many more desperate animals that need to be saved. Read this story to be aware of this horrible situation and be able to help the cause of helping them.
About the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group - Shelfari
You may not want to read all of these but there are a lot of good books here so pick and choose. Why not start a dedicated list of your own and start to work through it!
About the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group - Shelfari
About the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die group - Shelfari
Eavan Boland at The Poetry Foundation
This interesting essay by Eavan Boland is on the Poetry Foundation site, touching on various poetic subjects but especially interesting on the poet's life--to be a poet of skills who can write, read or teach, or a poet who dedicates himself/herself only to the act of writing?
"But there is always a fraction — even if it’s just a small minority — of poets out in the world who don’t want to do any of these things. If there’s a conversation, they’re having it with themselves, with their own poems. They don’t want to extend it, share it, structure it. They are private, inward, and dissociated from the skills on offer or in demand.
Once I thought there was a broad tolerance for this. Now I’m not so sure. In Ireland, or the us or the uk, the tilt is towards the poet who can navigate the worlds of the university, the institution, the community, the reading series, the community workshop, the literary festival. There has been a gradual, perhaps calcifying professionalism which requires of a poet a standard of behavior and communality which poets were once exempted from. I was never uncritical of that exemption. But now, somehow, I wish I saw more of it. "
Follow the link to read the complete essay.
"But there is always a fraction — even if it’s just a small minority — of poets out in the world who don’t want to do any of these things. If there’s a conversation, they’re having it with themselves, with their own poems. They don’t want to extend it, share it, structure it. They are private, inward, and dissociated from the skills on offer or in demand.
Once I thought there was a broad tolerance for this. Now I’m not so sure. In Ireland, or the us or the uk, the tilt is towards the poet who can navigate the worlds of the university, the institution, the community, the reading series, the community workshop, the literary festival. There has been a gradual, perhaps calcifying professionalism which requires of a poet a standard of behavior and communality which poets were once exempted from. I was never uncritical of that exemption. But now, somehow, I wish I saw more of it. "
Follow the link to read the complete essay.
I Love Facebook!
After signing up some time ago and posting in a desultory fashion for a while, I finally started to use Facebook and I have to say I love it. To begin with, I've found some old friends. Since I'm a writer, I've found some friends of friends, looked them up and invited them to network with me. This is a gentle, non-obtrusive way to share lives with people who are engaged in the same enterprises. You can announce readings or tell people how much you enjoyed the grapefruit you just ate. To some, this may seem trivial but I have an enormous appetite for daily life and I find the little things people sometimes post endearing. And I love waking up, staggering to my computer before coffee (as is my habit) and finding somebody has sent me some virtual brownies! I love getting ideas for things to read from what other people are reading. I love sending virtual martinis, pigs, banana splits and hatchable eggs to people. After all, it's the thought that counts, isn't it, and writers never have any money to give real presents to people. Facebook has a nice clean presentation with minimal advertising. Easy to use. Lots of applications, all of which have worked seamlessly for me. I added the Facebook toolbar and get automatic updates so I can easily zip over to get the latest news and then get back to work. Yeah, I'm a born-again Facebook convert! Hope to see you there!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)