Hiya,

also keen on this thread. Thought i'd tread through it as much Robert has
outlined his headings, say some things that might strike as more personal
comments and some that are applicable to others here or not yet or ever to
be here. Early thoughts here.

>Linguistically Innovative Poetry from 1982 onwards

well i also don't enjoy this term as it sets out a definition of that which
is not linguistically innovative by default and we know from other areas of
discussion how relative and slippery a term 'innovative' is. I can see that
it can be used if boundaries are clearly set for it but it depends on
definition and such terms don't really do it for me. One poets
linguistically innovative will be another's yesterday convention and so
forth. One other poets linguistically innovative will another's way beyond
the pale blah blah

>a growing sense of the critical, theoretical influx of French
>post-structuralism.

I guess this is true for some, but routes by which 'news' travelled will
vary. Paul Buck's magazine 'Curtains' mixed poetics, poetry,
post-structural essaying and performance art with a radical swerve that
introduced us to this mix in the mid-1970s. For myself I also found that i
was using terms and vocabularies that were being used by Derrida, Kristeva,
Irigaray and de Certeau. The thing was that i ddn't get to read the english
translations until a decade later, because whilst I was using it i wasn't
looking for confirmations in those directions at that time. However LangPo
was fairly saturated in such materials and i for one probably osmosed a
fair amount through secondary sources.

>a need to discuss poetics and a greater willingness to do so (influence of
>language poetry here more than in the poetry itself?) This list was not
>just technologically unthinkable 20 years ago.

absolutely. The technology arguments about these discourse networks is
made. The need came through a diversity of pressures:

-   people abroad asking why britPo didn't articulate itself more
elaborately in discursive modes. Influence of language poetry in this
respect through establishing networks
-   refocussing in the wake of the burn outs of the mid-late 1970s took time
-   time for reflection after a whirlwind of making work. The near vacuum
induced the desire.

>later: an academicisation of this . Conferences. in early 90s: Cambridge:
>New Hampshire: London (both academic and SubVoicive): Southampton: Cork.
>Perhaps more writers obtaining academic positions? More academic work
>being done on the poetry (eg my own PhD 1979-87)

absolutely. I certainly resisted writing such discursive work, prefering at
that time to write poetry. Although I was chipping into L=A=N=G=U=A=G=E
Book and Poetics Journal with snippets in the late 70s and early 80s as
were Allen Fisher, Eric Mottram, Paul A Green, Rod Mengham others i might
have missed. Then there were reviews and articles being written for britPo
magazines by a bevy of stalwarts (sounds like a coinage there).

>The revitalisation of the Irish scene. (Post-New Hampshire. It seemed to
>me that many Irish poets met one another here for the first time)

Billy has already said enough on this. Except that this was the first time
that I met any of them and I'm glad in every case.

>The (re)turn to performance in late eighties.  renewed interest in
>interart (hybrid forms, collaborations: book art)

My sense of this is that it never went away. Poets such as myself were
present in the London crossarts scenes between 1976-85. I mean around the
LMC, Acme Gallery, Laundry Gallery, Film-makers Coop, X6 Dance space. Four
Corners (and their respective magazines Musics, Readings, New Dance). I'm
aware of Lawrence Upton, Carlyle Reedy, ee vonna-michel, Paige Mitchell,
Glenda George, Ken Edwards, Alaric Sumner, Clive Fencott, Paul Buck, Peter
Riley, Douglas Oliver, Anthony Barnett, Allen Fisher at some of these
venues but then Allen Fisher was in the thick of FluxShoe, Ulli Freer was
involved with John Bull Puncture Repair Kit, Jeff Nuttall was in the People
Show and of course Bob Cobbing as manager of Better Books gave Huttall his
first opportunities to create installations and himself took part in the
Destruction In Art Symposium. There were cross overs between poetry and
'performance art', 'Live Art, New Dance, Improvised Music throughout the
mid-late 1970s, the early 1980s. Steve benson, Allen Fisher and myself gave
an improvised collaborative talk-based performance at Chisenhale Dance
Space for example in July 1984. Poetry was never central to such scenes but
it was there and the presence of that interaction was present in the
poetries written. There were organisational interventions too, other than
those documented around Earls Court Square. For example Ken Edwards and PC
Fencott's involvement with Angels of Fire, the Talks he organised in
Orpington (important gatherings as I remember) and a series with Allen
Fisher in Islington (my memory needs jogging). There was my own involvement
with Chisenhale (gallery and performance residencies and the Dance Space).
This is a period of crossartform and crossover audiences that I've been
intending to go into detail about for some time though. There's a great
deal to say and it's implications are strong.

>then the beginning of cyberpoetics from the mid 90s.

yes, very much just a beginning

love and love
cris





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