as somewhat of a lurker too I find helen frances' comments interesting and
think such excursions into this space should probably be encouraged by those
more active on the list.  a little gentleness is perhaps warranted, and maybe
there is a lesson here for the notion of reading, since I know from long
experience on e-mail that the _lack_ of tone in the text, increased by its
sheer homogeneity and failure to even reflect the inflection of written notes,
can tend towards a great sense of distance.  thus the assumption of nearness
that is, perhaps, necassary for _repartee_, an assumption of an acknowledgement
of the implications etc, cannot be made in this space.  That said I find the
attitude more businesslike than anything, although the reactions to both
orpheus (perhaps more than justified) and paul mackintosh (perhaps less so, I
don't know) suggest a certain tendency to 'bite' amongst participants.  I am
curious as to whether this is some sort of necassary meachanism for the
maintenance of snaity and the ability to work in an arena which is constantly,
it seems, unrecognised except in small circles.  Such a lack of recognition
does not say anything about the quality.  But at the same time there is the
danger of entering the world that Bourdieu describes where a certain 'social
value' comes from not being recognised.  'Success taints' and all that.  I must
admit I always thought that was a peculiarly british/english/whatever you call
people who live here trait until I found it in Bourdieu.

but, though these comments may seem slightly neagtive, I do want to
congragulate the work of this list.  e-mail lsit are notoriously impossible
places for 'community'.  some of the lists I have been part of have been going
some three, four years and the cycles of behaviour tend to be repated
throughout the gamut of lists that do anything other than simply distibute
information to passive audiences.  thus there is bound to be a sense of
learning in the growing of a list and I would simply suggest that those active
here acknowledge the 'peculiarities' of the e-mail list situation, the need to
not assume anything as to how it works without much more than a few months
practice.  some people may well have such longer experience of
'community'/communication enviroments and perhaps they would disagree with my
suggestion.  no doubt.

and as to helen frances' question as to why, as a lurker, I lurk.  mainly
because I am, have been for a year of two, trying to dveleop my writing skills
from occasional forays and academic work inot a more sustained form and find
the discussions, contacts with regard to small press books/pamphlets and
notices of dates a way of trying to gradually 'situate' myself within or
without contemporary poetry that I find intersting (ie; not just through
passively consuming bloodaxe or whatever).  I regularly attend sessions of
poetry readings in brighton, do tongues, madame sex, etc and the style down
here is very different from what is reported though I speak from secondary
sources - perhaps to be rectified if I can get to london for the sub-voicive
colloquium or somehting like that.  The stuff down here is often complete
rubbish but occasonally fantastic (such as a series called 'readings to an
empty room' which I was the only person to attend and which eventually
developed into a peculiar dialogue between me and the writer as we went on
train jopurneys whilst he did readings, to beaches etc).    that said I am also
in the middle of trying to write a paper on wittgenstein and have been for a
couple of months now as well as following five or six other lists, some writing
lists, and so tend to 'shift focus' as interests rise and fall.

ttfn

matt
 


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