On the subject of Denise Riley, SoFi (formerly Southfields magazine),
editor Richard Price, is devoting a forthcoming issue to her work,
including an essay of mine based on the talk I gave at the "Assembling
Alternatives" conference: "The grace of being common". Of the articles
that I know on her work, my favourite is the one by Nigel Wheale, although
it's a few years ago now.
DR dsn't like poet crit. and obviously the important thing is to read the
work. It's all in there, including her "manifestos", such as:
The ambition to not be particular speaks
'I cannot tell what gives each voice its tune -
some furious tenderness of buried words
or interference from the streets
and their hazardous crying -
but if for me some words must be exhumed
out of their sunken heat they must be cooled
to the grace of being common -
so as to achieve my great colourlessness
I dive into the broken brilliant world
and float in it unindividuated, whitely'
FP
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