Before the topic disappears I would like to give some support to David
Bircumshaw. Nobody else has expressed any sympathy with his view but as he is
a resident of Leicester who is into innovative poetry I think his 'anger'
deserves consideration. Sorry if I am a bit late with the cavalry David but I
recognise what you were talking about. I understand the Sheffield
Contingent's objections to your objections but they were inside, experiencing
the space, while you, as a local witness sharing a strong interest, were
outside looking at a facade. What your detractors said was true but, despite
that, what you said remains an issue.
If I thought this was simply down to a passing personal sensitivity then I
would not bother to comment, but I believe there is more to it. Because of
his placing, David picked up on an aspect of the conference that would
probably not be picked up by someone who attended the conference any more
than it would by someone who never attended because they had no interest.
Here is a concrete example of a liminal experience that some of you were so
eagerly discussing some weeks back.... There are contradictions in the air -
gaps between what is said and socio-political reality. David has perceived
that gap in this instance, as I have experienced it in other instances. In
this instance the gap is between real and unreal places, made all the more
pressing for David because the promoted high chat about architectural poetry
space is taking place in circumstances in which its distance from reality,
its gap, > its post-modern placelessness if you like < is manifest to that
single observer. The conference floats like a virtual bubble in a very real
and immediate space - the problem is caused by its apparent negative
juxtaposition, for that observer, with the very thing it is supposed to be
addressing. David's privileged position enables him to observe the 'lie' - as
a ghost might, in isolation and helplessness.
I would have loved to have attended the conference - it sounds as though it
was RIGHT UP MY STREET.
Tim A.
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