Excellent post from Keith Tuma on the Raworth/Prynne thing. While agreeing
that it's not perhaps in the end a helpful binomial, I feel it is precisely
the openness/ambiguity of Raworth's texts (which some, including some on
this list, may feel uneasy with) that makes him a useful model - ie there's
scope for creative misunderstanding (see my review of Tottering State back
in Reality Studios Vol 8, which draws on Ted Berrigan's thoughts on this
subject). By contrast, Prynne's interventions in the world, while
devastating at times, are for me too perfectly formed, too complete in
their ethical assurance to do anything with. And therefore I get
embarrassed at a lot of Prynne-imitative stuff. Whether printed in their
original books or collected in the Allardyce Barnett edition (which I don't
mind nearly as much as Cris Cheek does), I feel Prynne's poetry should come
with a warning: Children, please don't try this at home.
Ken
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