I'm intrigued by Lawrence Upton's arguments (below):
>I cannot disagree with you that the two "turn out to be entirely different
>pieces" both because I haven't seen the print version and I don't know your
>criteria; but I suggest that this need not be a general rule i.e. that
>"entirely" would not always apply
This may be true, but havinbg looked at some of Tom Bell's visual poems on
the web, I would have to say that he has accomplished things there that
cannot be reproduced on the page. I would assume that some of them look
like 'dirty concrete' (as bpNichol used to all it), but that the ways in
which background & foreground keep changing on the screen simply can't be
reproduced. I may be wrong, but this aspect of the work seems to me to make
it essentially computer-oriented, & that is something new in conrete
poetry, something only possible with the advent of the computer.
>
>There will be difference and I think it cuts in when one stresses the visual
>element of the poem rather than treating what is on the page as something to
>read from or as a medium for silent reading. In other words I think the
>difference is inherent in making visual poetry, whatever that is.
On the other hand, this is a very intersting point. Sometimes such visual
works are also performance texts, & as such they do (or at least can)
become something like the tunes jazz musicians improvise on, & so that,
yes, each time they are performed they are different. But I'm not sure that
has much to do with the way these pieces appear on screen. Although,
perhaps having them on a laptop would make for some intriguing performances
of them, which is an interesting thing to think about...
There is a lot in Lawrence's note to think about, in fact, & I'm grateful
for that...
Douglas Barbour
Department of English
University of Alberta
Edmonton Alberta Canada T6G 2E5
(h) [780] 436 3320 (b) [780] 492 0521
http://www.ualberta.ca/~dbarbour/dbhome.htm
the way of what fell
the lies
like the petals
falling drop
delicately
Phyllis Webb
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|