I found the first proper answer here particularly interesting and energising. It was certainly nice to see someone put words to some feelings i've had about spoken word and all that stuff, but haven't been able to myself figure out without sounding like a snob.
But i was dismayed by those answers about politics. I know it's a long and unwieldy discussion, and I have no interest in attacking SJ Fowler himself for his views here... but, well a phrase like "Dada was then not against the war, it was above it." Seems like an inadequate response, and something of a get out clause to me.
Similarly - "The poet is then creating political resistance, not for a specific political party or theory, but for independence of expression and freedom of thought and creativity that all should possess, but often don’t under our current political moment." Those freedoms vaguely conceived mean very little to me. Not engaging on the terms which are presented is obviously an important resistance, but I'd hope we can do a little more than just create for ourselves a liberal realm of mental freedom and buy out of the specifics. I'm sure you've all had versions of this discussion many times, and are perhaps tired of it, but i just wanted to say that really, that I hope that, when I'm occasionally on the barricades, it is not irrelevant that I am a poet.
But yeah, a really interesting interview, got me thinking again after a period of malaise, for which I'm grateful.
Much love.
Joey
Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 12:03:51 +0000
From:
[log in to unmask]Subject: interview
To:
[log in to unmask]Link to an interview with S.J. Fowler on Sabotage.
I really hope that what Fowler says is of interest to this sleepy list which is still supposed to be a forum for discussion of innovative poetry (or whatever).
Cheers
Tim A.
