Alison
Well, froth has its serious aspect, and even a dark aspect, as in evidence of
pollution - anyway, your posts do have a lighter touch than some, whatever
their material, so I always take them seriously.
Your recoil from Official Poet reminds me of my recoil from Official Poems -
as in Officially Good Poems - don't you find that trying to define/label
poems as wellas poets stultifies the very thing in one that is looking out
for a poem? I see their capacity and their performance but the relationship I
make with them is different from less-labelled even if published work. Do you
think that is one factor in the borrowing/remaking of lines, which is the
usual compost of poetry (as lots of postings lately have been saying)? The
need to re-engage Culture?
By the way, capitals have crept up on your Artist in the Community so do I
take it you recoil from those too?
Best
Claire
In a message dated 08/06/01 00:50:24 GMT Daylight Time, [log in to unmask]
writes:
Hi Claire
I wasn't being exactly sober in my frothings... how dare you take them
seriously!
>Your point about physical presence - I think having a designated poet
living
>in the community whose work it is to promote, mostly by doing, this
>particular art, shows evidence of being beneficial - is there an
anarchistic
>thrust in giving up a 'straight' social work job for this one?
We call those schemes Artists in the Community here - but the offence for
me is the Official Poet thing, which erects an ersatz status in the place
of actual engagement with real art (which may in some intangible way be
useful, but no time or space or brain to say how) in the name of Culture
(which on the whole isn't). But that's a can of worms and might get me
started on actual complaining, and that's well what it is.
The fool in the court - I've often felt like that. Not a comfortable
berth.
Best
A
