I did stay on till the end of the Perelman event. I was a little
disappointed by the low-key question & answer session, but perhaps people
were tired. The whole thing had gone on a mite too long (over 3 hours, for
those who observed the 6.30 for 7 start time - in fact it started about
7.30), and especially for a packed venue without chairs.
However, many thanks to Miles Champion, Tim Atkins and others for putting
it on, and for the refreshments.
Bob's work is among the most interesting of the "language" group for me, in
its wit, political awareness, and willingness to use a wide range of
techniques. His current theoretical position is regarded by some as
revisionist - but I think his book _The Marginalization of Poetry_
(Princeton University Press) is an admirably clear-headed and (as far as it
can be) objective look at the poetic movement of which he has been a part.
It accomplishes what some commentators this side of the Atlantic have
signally refused to to do: examine what "language writing" means through
looking at some exemplary texts - ie poems! - as well as providing a
historical and socio-political context. Whether the term has any validity
other than as a handy label to apply to certain group formations is still
very much an open question.
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