Two reflections on Drew Milne's densely packed, though purposeful,
message of 6/2, on 'Public Speaking v. Poetry';-
First, online exchanges clearly are unlike either public or private
readings of poetry/prose. As for what makes this difference, Howard
Rheingold, a noted commentator on computer culture, has suggested in
his recommended book "The Virtual Community" (Secker and Warburg
1994) that online media are characterised by a process of
'many-to-many' communication (say, many comments on a particular
poetics 'Subject' reaching many subscribers to Mailbase) rather than
'one-to-many' (public readings) or 'one-to-one' (private reading).
Performance, I would venture, is more suited to the 'one-to-many'
context (are conversants, for instance, 'performing' for one
another?).
Second, quotation (Derrida not excepted) may be controversial, but
seems to have a lot of advantages over indirect reference. Rather than
speaking, say, of "Eliot's amusing nonsense book about cats", why not
quote a line or two to show how, or indeed whether, it really is 'amusing
nonsense' (if not, conceivably, neither amusing nor nonsense).
This is one reason I also insist on facing translations, where
possible (easier said...), even if the original is all Greek.
Clark Allison
Aberdeen
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