Dear Bob,
I'm going to answer this as I see it at this moment.
What, in your opinion, are the currently most important poetics at the
moment?
I'm most interested in a poetics which lobs the full fizz of ordinary
language into a broad crowd bringing entertainment & renewed
confidence in poetry, human spirit, and language. Most important I
don't know.
What are the most important schools of poetical thought?
This is not a good question.
If one were interested in trying to put one's finger on the current poetical
pulse, who should he read, what direction should he look in?
I don't think it's posssible to be current currently. It's impossible
to know what's being done in the trenches. I like www.ubu.com -- a
major historical site with current additions. I'm very interested in
the burgeoning of visual poetry in contemporary forms, especially
digital.
What are people's opinions on who are the most 'important' poets of the
moment (important as innovators, etc., rather than poets whom you admire
or whatever.)
It depends on the tradition you are interested in. Innovation in
Irish poetry is one thing, innovation in digital poetry is another,
innovation in performance poetry another, innovation in
African-American poetry another, etc. I'm the most important poet in
my life right now.
> What are people's opinions on the direction poetry (in the large, in in
> several large chunks) is moving right now?
Wildly exciting. Terribly depressing. The book is over. The book is
still necessary. Readings are dead. Readings haven't even been
broached.
I feel I have to learn the alphabet all over again; just to exploit
some of the possibilities of poetry online. It's very hard to be
interested in poetry. It's very hard to be interested in anything
else.
>
> I have found searching for information on contemporary poetics on the
> net to be a futile affair. I think if one is not already clued in one
> does not recognise whats out there.
As above, www.ubu.com is great. The Poetics list is not bad. If
you're laid up with the flu but well enough to browse, fly to the
Atlanta of www.ronsilliman.blogspot.com and change flights to
destinations of your choice from there.
Mairead
|