Re: Whatever happened to
Dear Peter, Mairead, Ian, Tim and all
Of course, you're all right! Mairead makes excellent
points about the proliferation of real acivity in the US. Even in the UK money
is going into 'live literature' and 'performance poetry,' which I applaud.
However, the small ground for more experimental poetry in the UK, it seems to
me, has been shortened.
I'd argue that those working in 'edge' poetry have largely
turned to art and film in the UK (my subscription to the Artists' Newsletter -
AN - is far more important to me than my subscription to the National Poetry
Society). I think this is because the visual arts scene (including film) in the
UK maintains a contradictory take on art through the art school system where
notions of conceptualism versus craftsmanship are played out on a daily basis.
This would be exciting if the intellectual debate between conceptualism and
craftsmanship was also played out on a daily basis. It isn't.
Viewing masses of students' work via the arts factory,
Norwich, the tedium of in-jokes, the immediate, the slight, the strand of a
tradition purveyed by a tutor, means the work falls to pieces too
quickly. I see myself looking at FaceBook - not online but in the
work.
I'm sure you all have a FaceBook page like I but it is
utterly the opposite of what it pretends to be: for 'friends' it is a
competition to gather more & more friends as points in a tiny &
impossible celeb competition; and for the FaceBook company it is the means to
sell on the details of participants.
I argue that a subscribers' list like this List have never
been more important. If we feel that the internet has to be a real
international tool for artists and poets, what is or has been a tool? Blogs
certainly, YouTube probably. MySpace and FaceBook just atomize human beings
- make them falsely compete.
Yes, there can be an exchange of information via
these interfaces but there is no discussion and no debate! And if
you've looked at 'poetry' on MySpace, no poetry.
I'm glad I had a 'shout.' David Swords wrote a poem
here - and I got a strand going!
Love, Rupert
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Saturday, June 07, 2008 8:01
PM
Subject: Re: Whatever happened to
This list is in fact less dead than UKPoetry, and PoetryEtc is
in its own way entirely gone-to-rest or out-to-lunch.
Ian is
probably right in saying that things like Facebook are responsible, or blogs
in general, the refreshing possibility of talking with
*friends*...
Or is it simply because most people have given up the
attempt ?
PR
From: ian davidson
<[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: ian davidson
<[log in to unmask]>
Date: Sat, 7 Jun 2008 15:04:42
+0000
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject:
Re: Whatever happened to
Hi Tim,
Bit unfair on Mairead, who I think has done and
continues to do a really good job, and brings a really interesting
perspective to the list.
Just went back through the archives and the
following have been discussed this year.
January extended
discussion of 20th Century Long Poems, Coleridge, Love Poems,
February long discussion of british and irish poetry,
longer discussion on divisions, camps and spectrums, more on love poems,
April extended discussion of Laura Riding, Neologism
etc
All seems useful to me, and relevant to the interests of the
list. I'd also say one of the legitimate uses of the list is to inform
members of events, publications etc. There are quiet spells of course.
It is probably true that if we look back to the late 90s then that
was a golden age of listservs, but that was before facebook, my space etc,
and a million other ways to communicate. I don't think these lists will ever
have the impact they made then, when they linked people that geography had
held apart, but they still serve an important purpose, for discussion and
distribution of information.
best
Ian
> Date: Sat, 7 Jun 2008 14:06:35 +0100
>
From: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Whatever happened to
> To:
[log in to unmask]
>
> 'Whatever happened to
the heroes / all those Shakespeareoes'
>
> Testing testing.
Looking for listserve that caters for the interests
> of
British and Irish innovative poets etc. Can't find it. Used to be
> on something called British-Irish poets with interesting
people
> talking about interesting things (sometimes at least)
until its
> management was taken over by two people who did not
fully understand
> or appreciate the interests and inclination
of many of its most
> faithful members.
>
>
Testing testing.
>
> Tim A.
Get fish-slapping on Messenger! Play Now
<http://clk.atdmt.com/UKM/go/msnnkmgl0010000008ukm/direct/01/>