I witnessed a miracle!! Hallelujah!!! Praise the Lord!!!
Hand me a snake.
Geraldine Monk wrote:
>
> To have one insipid reader at a poetry reading is
> a misfortune, to have two is careless but to have
> twenty two is truly miraculous.
> I think it a great pity if the britpoet mailbase is being
> used as an overseas base for American internal
> back-stabbing. O.K. the readings may/may not have
> been insipid - I wasn't there so I can only take your
> word for it but the general tenor of this account seems
> anything but objective. The only good guys being
> rejects from the Buffalo list?!
> We are all interested in what is going on in the rest of
> the world of poetry but not this sort of petty
> poetry politics - please. Was anyone at this reading
> who can give a more objective account?
> G.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: R.Gancie/C.Parcelli <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
> Date: Friday, December 29, 2000 01:48
> Subject: Report on Bridge Street Books MLA Group Reading
>
> >Their Bark Had No Tree:
> >
> >If the group reading of 22 poets staged at the Four Seasons Hotel last
> >night is endemic of American poetry today, then American poetry is dead.
> >Barrett Watten read a long poem On Friendship clearly designed to be
> >flagged by the Oxford Book of Poems on Friendship and torpid enough to
> >make it in. My apologies to the Metaphysicals. Watten's meditation was
> >obviously a product of too many idle moments in his lit department
> >office.
> >
> >Bob Perelman did him one snoozier with an interminable, 5 minute piece
> >punctuated by reports of his frequent flyer miles. With a lot of these
> >folks, rebellion seems to have gone the way of their hair, if one can
> >believe they ever had any fire in them to begin with.
> >
> >Johanna Drucker read her "hygenic hardware" poem in a spectaular
> >monotone that resembled HAL the computer in 2001. The poem beats to
> >death a single metaphor and then compounds the felony by having a book
> >designed around it.
> >
> >Juliana Spahr read two poems that rather mechanically and
> >unimaginatively morphed one word into another in bland and fatuous
> >association. Then she grafted an appendix to each poem that by fiat
> >insisted upon the above exercises grave consequences. Very sterile.
> >
> >It was clear that Jerome Rothenberg's contribution to poetry does not
> >come from his own work. And one learns that Loss Glazier and Susan Howe
> >are nervous, frail creatures that one should not stand up and hoot at at
> >poetry readings, no matter how bereft there presentation is of substance
> >or talent. Somewhat the same can be said of the Waldrop's who seem to at
> >least to muster a little intensity for their work even if its not
> >actually in the work.
> >
> >There's no Sturm und Drang in young Faust, Graham Foust that is.
> >Likewise for the others who if they knew anything at all were powerless
> >to communicate it in their poetry.
> >
> >With all the enthusiasm that Pope John now musters for the Confiteor,
> >moderator Rod Smith of Bridge Street and Ariel Magazine kept waking up
> >the audience with his own monotone recital of "what a great reading this
> >is." But a "great" reading it was not. And from audience reaction, it
> >seems certain that if you caught any of them in an honest, Guinness
> >soaked moment they would have communicated their shock at the amateurish
> >nature of the proceedings especially in light of the "all-star" cast.
> >But in the back of the audience's minds rests two concerns; do I write
> >any better? And do I want to offend any of these guys when I might need
> >a job reference? This was the tone that informed the evenings poetry.
> >This is what people mean when they refer to "academic" poetry.
> >
> >The readers went in reverse alphabetical order, so that the grand poobah
> >and frightfully insipid poet, Charles Bernstein could read last. When
> >Charles made his way to the podium, most of the FlashPoint staff made
> >its way to the exits. This was in no way intended as a protest of
> >Bernstein's cruel censorship of the eloquent Henry Gould, the sheepish
> >Gabe Gudding and, now, the endearing and totally innocent, Kent Johnson.
> >We just couldn't stand even 5 more minutes of the poetic drivel. Carlo
> >Parcelli
> >
> >Bob's Big Boy, Bob's Burger Barn, Bob's Brazen Bestiality, Bob's Broad
> >Buttocks, Bob's Billiards and Barbecue, Bob's Bluffalo Bamboozle,
> >Bob's....
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