I doubt I have anything substantive to say about Native American
poetics. I don't know the slightest thing about it.
I admit that my knee does start to jerk any time I hear words like
"indigenous" - harmless enough by itself - in close proximity to the
sort of language that suggests some kind of moral innocence.
But that aside, I'm really just puzzled by the notion that erotic
utterance can have a determinate political valency. It seems to me
like a variant on the "repressive hypothesis" that seeks to ground
resistance to "power" in sexual identity and knowledge, as if "power"
knew nothing of such things or was even afraid of them.
Well, time to re-read.
Dominic
On Tue, 15 Mar 2005 08:59:48 -0800, Stephen Vincent
<[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I say, if I may, "time out" for Dominic to really read the issue - or the
> essay in question - and then come back on a substantive level. As one who is
> personally inclined to shoot from the hip - and not fully consider the depth
> of somebody else's real work - I recommend a good look first. Otherwise it
> becomes the "Fox" reactive mode of another network!
>
> Stephen V
> Who is really pleased to be in this issue of Masthead.
>
>
> > On 15/3/05 11:36 PM, "Dominic Fox" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> >
> >> Incidentally, where does this idea that the poetic articulation of
> >> erotic longing will help to construct a more mutually respectful
> >> social milieu come from? It seems like wishful thinking at best to me.
> >> I don't find in my sexual makeup a great deal that would be of use in
> >> making a better society.
> >
> > Hi Dominic
> >
> > Did you read the essay (from which I distorted that quote in order to write
> > a chatty intro)? It says precisely where ideas similar to that (but not
> > quite what you're saying here) comes from, in some contemporary indigenous
> > writings; and it's an idea that absolutely embraces conflicted selves. "Not
> > despite, but because of, a bloody and oppressed history, Indigenous writers
> > speak up/from their sexuality, determined to bring pleasure into the
> > political arena and beyond. Even mourning for the crimes of racism and
> > homophobia, these writers remind us of the sensual physical world that those
> > who commit these crimes fear. "
> >
> > Best
> >
> > A
> >
> >
> > Alison Croggon
> >
> > Blog: http://theatrenotes.blogspot.com
> > Editor, Masthead: http://masthead.net.au
> > Home page: http://alisoncroggon.com
>
--
// Alas, this comparison function can't be total:
// bottom is beyond comparison. - Oleg Kiselyov
|