 |
 |
Thanks, Tim - This sounds like a useful outlining of the contemporary 'experimental'. Robert ________________________________ From: British & Irish poets <[log in to unmask]> on behalf of Tim Allen <[log in to unmask]> Sent: 06 January 2018 14:09:40 To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: Where does poetry sit in relation to academia, or vice versa? Agree, mostly - not quite sure though about John Hall. So John if you are listening - ???? And this matches my own point about identity being determined by what something is not, not by what it is. Back to shades of Saussure. Nevertheless, some of the things that currently mark out a poet as being called 'experimental' or avant are pretty obvious - those who incorporate technology as an integral part of the work (and not just a means) - those whose work appears to cross boundaries with other artforms (this would include the performative) - those whose processes of composition include methodologies associated with artificial forms, found texts, restrictions and chance - and those whose work appears to break the usual rules of language etc. But after that it becomes a bit more difficult but thinking of a lot of work that has appeared over the past decade I would include - those whose work seems to be engaging with issues of language itself, especially as those issues relate to political and cultural questions about gender and identity. So, have I left anything out? On 5 Jan 2018, at 16:16, Peter Riley wrote: Because the distinction avant-garde /not avant-garde was not taken as an indicator of quality but more objectively. And because I hovered between one and the other, as did others. What’s A-G about most of the poetry in those years of John James, John Hall, John Riley, Tim Longville, Douglas Oliver? I don’t think any of the poets involved would have liked to be called avant-garde or experimental, They were clearer that they were not what is now called mainstream, but that was largely a result of adversarial treatment by others. JH Prynne sent his poem on the death of Paul Celan to The Times as a news item, and was surprised and dismayed that they rejected it.