Dear Mairead,
I was really just making an observation rather than a rallying call but I'm
very glad you responded with this account of the Cave centre which sounds
wonderful.  Not sure I fully understood it but as fairground attractions go
I shall be rooting to get one installed on Blackpool Pleasure Beach - a
place which had such weird and scary things when I was a child that I'm
still trying to get out of the other side.  Words shooting past ones head
sounds just the ticket.  Can you shoot back at them and win a fluffy bunny?
A bit more sophisticated than being drunk on the top deck of a late-night
bus.  Not that I'd know.

Totally stumped on imaginary books and authors I'm having such a problem
with the real thing at the moment.  All I can think of are really stupid
collocations like 'Gone with the Wind' by Donald Trump.  But that sort of
thing would seriously undermine my standing as a really serious person so
I'll not go down that particular path.

But thanks for reply.
At least I know someone else is on earth.
Oh and Tim of course. Now what's he got against Blessed John Fisher just
because he got a degree in Cambridge.  Or are there some other Fishers I've
never heard of?

Enough no more,
Cheers,
G.



Geraldine Monk
www.westhousebooks.co.uk
----- Original Message -----
From: "mairead byrne" <[log in to unmask]>
To: "Geraldine Monk" <[log in to unmask]>
Cc: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, May 28, 2005 4:52 AM
Subject: Re: Bombardment?


Dear Geraldine and all,

I feel bad about not contributing more here. The last thing I really
wanted to write about here was a visit to the Cave at Brown University
here in Providence-- I went about three weeks ago with my two
daughters.  What is the Cave?  Well, it's a place I've been wanting to
go for a few years!  I had no idea what to expect.  Something
paleolithic and electronic.  Actually the Cave (Center for Advanced
Scientific Computation and Visualization) was a very small room  with
three walls in which we stood rooted while words shot past our heads.
My preconceptions were not totally wrong though.  The Cave is so
cutting edge for electronic literature it's almost primitive. Writers
sophisticated in other media may be blunt in the Cave; writing which
is not so strong otherwise can acquire wings in the Cave.  Because
when's the last time you were part of a small group of people oohing
and aahing at words?  Actually my two daughters (8 and 17) were
terrified. I have the documentation attached to the works we saw but
it is put away somewhere with everything else that has been put away
to clear the way for these last weeks of the semester.  We saw one
piece, the Word Museum, I think, by William Gillespie.
When I find the stuff, I'll write more. Here's a link, pretty taciturn
though:
http://www.ccv.brown.edu/cavewriting/

Usually I like to have news of readings and poetry events to post
here.  But it's been quiet recently.  I miss Robert Creeley and the
low-boil of excitement he brought with him.  Robert Pinsky read here a
few weeks ago but it was on Friday night and Friday nights are not
poetry nights chez nous.

The other great poetry thing I did recently was go to the John Hay
Library at Brown and look at all the E. E. Cummings materials.  The
Hay Library has the greatest collection of 20th century poetry
materials you can imagine, and it's very accessible.

Otherwise I'm excited to be reading with Nathaniel Mackey in Cork.

On some other lists, people are sending in their summer reading suggestions.
I'd agree to do that here if we can make up the titles and authors.

Mairead



On 5/27/05, Geraldine Monk <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Just out of curiosity and unlike Mr Upton (who I mistakenly backchallened
> on
> this subject - sorry L, it wasn't personal) I find the quietness of the
> list(s) at the moment deafening with non-speak.  (Unless things aren't
> getting through to me).
>
> Even if I can't always join in or read everything I'm always glad that
> there
> is an energetic chunnering in the background. But as of late there has
> been
> no background except for notices.  Blogs in particular I find is the
> answer
> to not having to engage with anyone but yourself and is a demise of poet
> lists.   Shall we all just talk to ourselves?   Why not.  Maybe we always
> did. I'm so used to talking to the walls I can't break a lifetimes habit.
>
> I think my point is that this whole web-thing is becoming a too-big
> disparate, unintelligible mush.  It's gone crazy.
>
> It's got it's plusses but cripes....
> people send in up to five or six websites per email to peruse.  I can't do
> it.  I'm human.   I'm also guilty.  On a lesser scale. But not that bloody
> guilty.  I've contributed to the mush but I do like to talk occasionally.
>
> Has it all come to saturation point?  Other than notices?  Are we all
> going
> to start clambering for books?  Real books?  To curl up with?   Spill your
> tea and coffee and wine on?   Mature them. Give them a personal story. A
> love story. We wiz ere.
>
>
> My problem is:  much as I feel honoured to be asked to contribute to
> websites is I just don't get the same buzz as being in a printed book.
> There's nothing real about it. No fiver for contribution (if you're
> lucky )
> no copies (if you're lucky) no feedback (if..)  no lovely book to put on
> your shelf.  To give to your mates for Christmas.. not that I ever
> did...but
> I could have done...no dedications...the sheer human warmth and closeness
> of
> dedicating a book to someone so special...
>
> The web:  It goes up and everyone else is so busy putting there own stuff
> up
> nobody is talking anymore.  Does it matter?  Not at all.  I'm glad we're
> all
> talking to ourselves  (hey-ho)  But it does seem the demise of the poets
> list except for a notice boards.  Or maybe we've just said everything that
> needs to be said.  Let's just get on with it.
>
> Anyway  I must be off into the ether again (Wales) and a more beautiful
> ether I can't imagine.  Just late night thoughts...
>
> g.
>
>
>
>
> Geraldine Monk
> www.westhousebooks.co.uk